Summer of Change
by DarrowLegacy
Summary: Follow the summer of two boys, who find themselves new challenges in a world changed by a devastating war just a year ago. Jake Darrow, brother to legendary Katrina Darrow, discovers an ancient part of his lineage. Nathan Coll, brother to notorious Devin and Dwayne Coll, tries to do the impossible - pleading for the forgiveness for a crime he did not commit.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**I**

**JAKE**

**Jake paced the war ball field with his eye on the opposing team.** He played midfield, with his game shield equipped. Because of this, he had to keep his right hand free if he wanted to catch and throw the ball. His teammate of the Third Cohort stood in their starting positions, as did he. It was his first game of the Camp Jupiter Summer Open.

Against any other cohort, Jake Darrow, brother of the legendary Katrina Darrow and son of Lucius Darrow, would have not treated them any different. But this was the First Cohort. He wasn't afraid to take them on, but he was cautious of one. Even underneath the helmet, he could see her red, curly hair poking through, making her distinctly different from the other members of the First Cohort.

"Ready, Jake?" Adrian Cramer, his cousin, legacy of Mars and Khione, asked.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for the game to start," Jake responded.

"Nervous?" the Centurion asked.

"Impatient," the 13 year old spoke.

Just then, the buzzers began to light up and steam shot up from several of the nearby vents at once. The field had several environmental hazards intentionally set up, to keep the game fast-paced and exciting. Every now and then, they would release huge amounts of air, shooting up anyone too oblivious to their danger. Jake made note of them. He made sure he wasn't going to get caught in one.

All eyes turned to the center as a console of several rings began to systematically light up. His hand around his shield handle tightened. Although the game of war ball was not new to him as a Roman, this was the first time it was going to include their neighbors in the East – the Greeks.

But now, Jake was facing his fellow Romans.

The ball shot up from the center console. Teammates playing the forward positions rushed to grab the ball. Jake advanced from his position, but kept some distance from the center line, in case the ball got intercepted. Adrian moved forward with another forward. With the two of them ahead, Jake ran in after them. He slammed his transparent game shield into the first person he ran into, clearing a path of Adrian, who had just grabbed the ball.

In the game of War Ball, players were allowed to use one weapon. Jake felt most comfortable with a shield, then an actual weapon, due to his former Centurion, Hannah Copperfield (now Praetor), had specialized in sword and shield fighting. Howard Amos (also Praetor), who had been taking care of him ever since his mom had left for a quest and sister… was_ gone_, also specialized in shield usage.

"Through here!" Jake shouted, pressing through a couple of defenders.

That was his first mistake.

The two defenders were Scott Ward and Brynn Wood, veterans of the Golden Age Revolutionary War. Like Jake, Scott Ward was part of a secret group called the Order of Romulus, who were devoted to protecting the succession of Praetors, as well as defeating corruption within the city of New Rome.

Just a year, one of the Order, Evan Pravus, betrayed them all, leading what was known as the Golden Age Revolution. He completely destroyed Camp Half-blood, save for its campers, and almost obliterated New Rome. If it were not for Jake's sister, none of them would be playing War Ball right now.

But that was a year ago, and Jake wasn't particularly fond of those events. He dismissed them from his mind and pressed the attack, deflecting an arrow from Scott Ward, who specialized in archery. It wasn't a favorable, or even honorable position within the Legion, but his skill made him better suited for that role.

Brynn on the other hand, was skilled in the use of the standard weapon set, which included the _gladius_. Striking with piercing attacks, she kept Jake distracted, while Scott moved behind him and hit him upside the head with his bow.

"Sorry, Darrow, but we want to win," Scott said, as he shot the ball from Adrian's hand. A runner was quick to catch it as it flew from his hand. Jake couldn't see the runner's face, but saw just a tad of red, curly hair. Ball in one hand and javelin in the other, the runner dodged and weaved past some of the Third Cohort defenders.

Jake would have gone to intercept the runner, except he was busy dealing with Brynn Wood. She was a little bit older than him, but had spent more years in the Legion, resulting in her superior skill over him. That's when Jade Cramer, Adrian's older sister, came rushing in to help Jake. She was the other Centurion of the Cohort, alongside her brother. They had somewhat closer since last year, but he kept at her at a preferred distance.

"Stop the runner, Jake!" Jade shouted at him. He turn and ran to catch up to the runner. Because he wasn't holding the ball, he wasn't the center of attention, and was able to move with the defenders easily. In seconds, he caught up, but only by a little. The runner was within some distance, and Jake was closing in as fast as he could. The runner was fast, not as fast as a Mercury kid, but fast nonetheless.

Suddenly, the runner stopped and made a complete 180 degree turn, hurling a javelin right at Jake. The Third Cohort Legionnaire had to stop in his tracks in order to block the throw, giving the runner time needed to make a goal, which eventually happened.

As the ball went in into goal, lights flared up and audiences cheered for the First Cohort. Jake grew upset with himself, letting the runner score on him like that. He glanced as the runner past him. He still couldn't the face, but he knew who it was.

_Come on, Jake_, he told himself.

The ball at the center console shot back up again, this time falling in the hands of Brynn Wood. Jake, enraged from his previous failure to block the opponent's score, charged right for her. He slammed right into her side, knocking the air, as well as the ball, out of her. Jake's eyes followed the ball as it rolled across the field. At the same time, he was chasing after it, unaware of where it was going.

That was his second mistake. Although he scooped up the ball, he wasn't aware of where he was standing, until he felt himself being thrown up into the air. In his short flight, he saw the ball fly from his free hand. He subsequently slammed to the ground, putting him out of commission for a few seconds as the game continued.

Getting back up to his feet, Jake tried to get his sense back together. A member of the First Cohort was coming in to take the ball before he could react. Jake tried to stop them, but they were much more in control of their senses then he was, so he did little to stop them. He tripped over his own foot and fell to the ground. Adrian came to his side and helped him up. Jake was really angry at this point, disregard the assistance his Centurion was giving him.

"Get them!" Jake shouted, pointing at the First Cohort forwards. He got himself up as Adrian chased after the opponents.

Jake was really angry now. Ever since his dad died, he had been having a really hard time managing his anger. HE figured letting it out on the field would help, but it wasn't showing. He was just getting angrier. His mind wasn't necessarily on the game, but rather on some of the things he's had to deal with, the things he was still dealing with.

Just then, Jade managed to intercept a First Cohort pass, putting the ball back into Third Cohort possession. Jake felt a small tinge of optimism shine, if only for a moment. He ran to catch up with the others, as the ball was slowly, but surely, moving toward the First Cohort goal.

Jake saw Jade point for an opening in the First Cohort defense, a line that Jake followed with his eyes. He ran to the opening, trying to anticipate her pass. Jake saw Jade throw the ball toward his way when their eyes met, confirming his guess.

Jake watched the ball fly through the air toward his way. He kept his free arm open to catch it. If things went smoothly, he would be able to cross the distance and possibly make a goal. But just as the ball was closing on him, an arrow collided with it in mid-air, altering its trajectory just slightly. The ball then landed into the hands of the runner… _again_.

"That's it," Jake muttered under his breath as he pursued the runner.

The runner caught on quick, speeding up. Jake pushed himself to keep up.

"Come on, come on," Jake said in between breaths, running in an all-out sprint after the sprint.

That was his third mistake. He hadn't realized he was being led on by the runner. Only when he was being thrown into the air by one of the vents again, did he realize he was being outplayed.

Jake slammed to the ground again, but wasn't getting up as fast as he did before. An official blew a whistle on him, indicating that he was injured. Two campers came running with a stretcher, loaded him up, and took him off the field. Jake was very disappointed with himself as he saw the runner score another goal as he was being taken away.

_Two weeks later…_

It had been two weeks since he lost the game. The First Cohort ended up being the team to represent Camp Jupiter in the finals against the Camp Half-blood representative team, the Turbulence Squadron, which consisted of the Houses of Poseidon (Neptune), Apollo, and Dionysus (Bacchus). Jake was injured with a minor concussion, but had to be taken out of the game. He hated having to lose, but hated having the option whether or not to continue taken away from him even more. But the order came from the top, the Praetors. They had been watching the game, Jake in particular.

So Jake went to work with the Order of Romulus, hoping that he could forget about his poor performance during the War Ball game. He was in the war room with Howard Amos, with whom he was just having a conversation with.

"So, what do you think of him?" Howard asked Jake.

"He's okay, but don't you think it's a little weird that- " Jake tried to say before a cheerful group of people entered the war room.

Scott Ward was holding his younger sister atop his shoulders, Cindy. She, consequentially, was holding up the trophy for the War Ball finals up over her. She waved her red, curly hair as she cheered and screamed triumphantly. Scott did the same.

Jake's face was boiling red. It was Cindy Ward, his fellow cell member in the Order of Romulus, that had caused him to get injured. He fell silent as the two, followed a couple of other members of the Order, cheered and chanted their chants.

After a couple of minutes of celebrating, Howard, Alpha (leader) of the Order, got everyone's attention for briefing.

"Okay, okay, quiet down," Howard instructed the Order. Scott stood by him. He was the only other member of his cell, and was also recognized as a leader within the Order. Scott was a unique individual, with many social connections, and held the positions of Centurion of the First Cohort, as well as augur (a ceremonial position) of the Legion and New Rome. Jake had heard stories about William Amos (Howard's father) and Martin del Sol (a distant relative of the Ward's) holding a similar relationship. "Congratulations to those of the First Cohort, for winning the finals."

Those who were part of the First Cohort cheered. The Order of Romulus had members in all Cohorts, but today it seemed like only the First was alive. Jake clenched his jaw. He wasn't just upset that he lost the game, but that he lost the _first_ game. The tournament had been dedicated to the people who had died last year. He tried playing that in his head.

_Hey, the brother of the girl who this entire tournament is dedicated to just lost in the first game,_ he thought to himself. _No, not just lost. He got himself taken off the field._

"Now, I need you to focus on your new assignments," Howard said. Jake knew that he was a leader, not just here in the Order, but for the Legion. Along with Hannah, he was a leader of the city. A lot of pressure was always on him. It was only natural that he act so stern and serious all the time. On that, Jake tried to adopt for himself. "Last year, just before the Siege of New Rome, I picked up some suspicious activity of some kind. I knew it wasn't the enemy's or ours, so I had to dismiss it for some time. Until recently, this group's activity has started to resume."

Jake noticed Scott glancing at Cindy for a split-second. He furrowed his eyebrows, thinking of what they were trying to do.

"Current reports, as scarce as they are, suggest that they congregate within the city," Howard continued. Jake crossed his arms. The last group to operate right under their noses was the Golden Age Revolution, under the patsy leadership of former Fifth Cohort Centurion, Thurgood Marshall, with Evan Pravus, the other Centurion, being the true mastermind. The emotions toward secret groups with operations within the city were no longer taken lightly. "We're not sure what they're capable of, but we estimate that their numbers are large, even at conservative measurements."

"Did we know the intent of this group?" a member asked.

"That's why you'll be going out on the field," Howard replied. A couple of other members laughed at the inquirer. "Tasks have been assigned to your cells. I expect you all out on the field. We don't need a repeat of last year's events. Dismissed."

Members went their separate ways. Jake ended up standing next to Cindy, and a couple of the other members of their cell. The girl looked at him nervously with her bluish-brown eyes.

"What?" Jake asked, a little annoyed she wasn't saying anything but kept on staring at him.

She shook her head.

"Fine, whatever," he said.

The alpha of their cell led them to a separate room, where they went over the details of their particular mission. Jake noticed that Cindy was acting a little strange. At least, more than she usually did. She didn't really talk to him, or anyone in the cell. Ever since last year, when he saved her from certain death, she had been acting really weird around him, staring at him when he wasn't looking. Jake didn't like games. If someone had something to say, he believed they should just go out and say it.

He had been looking at her, noticing how nervous she had been ever since Howard had talked to them about the secret group. He hadn't realized others were beginning to notice.

"Darrow!" the alpha shouted at Jake. "You two done playing googly-eyes, or what?"

"What, I wasn't- " Jake tried to say before he was cut off.

"Eyes forward!" the alpha commanded.

Jake sighed and tried to block the portion of his sight that Cindy was in.

_You're hiding something_, Jake thought to himself.

"Right, so where was I?" the alpha continued. "Oh, right. So looks like we're going to be investigating a couple of the elderly citizens of New Rome."

"Like veterans and the reserves?" a cell member asked.

"Did I freaking stutter?" the alpha asked furiously. "No, we're investigating the elderly. Old people, walking canes, wheelchairs, gray hair, dentures, etc."

"Oh… " the cell member echoed.

"Right then, here's the list of _ye olden_ people we need to investigate," the alpha said, passing out folders of paper. When he got his, he opened up the manila folder and looked at the list of names. There were ten of them. None of them that stuck out, or any that he had heard of. All except one.

_Agnes Westfield_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**II**

**NATHAN**

**Nathan nervously walked into the Praetor's office, unsure of the commitment he was about to make**. He had given it a whole to think about ever since his brothers… A year ago, his older brothers, twins to each, Devin and Dwayne, betrayed the Twelfth Legion _Fulminata_, murdering many of the Greek veterans from the Second Gigantomachy. He had been emotionally distressed for a whole year. To make things worse, his father, whom the two were supposedly fighting for, had descended into a drunken cycle. Between the occasional beatings he would give him and his mother, Nathan was anything but okay.

_The House of Coll stands so nobly_, Nathan thought to himself. His hand rubbed over the most recent bruise, which was in its most painful phase. _And here I am, throwing myself to the wolves._

Nathan walked into the Principia, where he found a busy Praetor Hannah Copperfield. Her blond hair spilled over her as she was busily writing down notes, checking papers, etc. He stood there for a couple of minutes before she even realized he was there. She looked up and saw him standing over the table.

"Oh, Legionnaire Coll, you're here," the praetor said to Nathan. "… why are you here?"

"Um, you requested my presence here, ma'am," Nathan said after saluting his superior officer. The wise and powerful Hannah Copperfield orchestrated the defense of New Rome during its darkest moments. She also stopped a previous coup of the city, alongside the legendary Katrina Darrow.

"Oh… OH!" she said. She quickly moved around some papers on her desk, and pulled out some new ones. Nathan tried counting all the stacks of paper, but gave up after the first dozen. The Praetor was indeed busy. It made him just a little hesitant of taking up Centurion, if he ever got around to becoming one.

In the Legion, Nathan was often spoken about with a sour tongue. People talked about him behind his back, mostly for what his brothers did. Still, even in his own Cohort, the Fourth, Nathan felt like an outsider. The whole city felt just as unwelcoming. Vendors felt compelled to provide service to soldiers, except to him. He was just a public beating and humiliation short of becoming a pariah.

"Sorry, the War Ball Tournament has created a legal documents to come my way," the praetor apologized. She opened up a folder, which had several documents inside, some with words completely covering them, others with empty dashes left for probably signatures on them. "I know the past year has been… _difficult_. What your brothers did… it must have been the last thing you would imagine them doing."

_It was_, Nathan thought to himself. _It still is_.

"But I also believe the Fates work in mysterious ways," she continued. She got up out of her desk and walked over to a map of the United States. There were a couple of thumbtacks on some particular locations, like the two demigod camps, and a couple of locations of interest. "Nathan, the war last year showed us that our relationship with our Greek neighbors is… _testy_ at best."

"But what does this have to do with me?" he asked nervously. "I mean, I know what brothers did was wrong, but I never took part in it."

"I'm not saying anything is your fault," she said, putting her hands to try to calm him. As far as Nathan knew, Hannah was respected by her peers, a model for women in the Legion (alongside Katrina Darrow), and possibly a future hallmark in future archives of the Legion. She was nothing like Nathan, the outcast, the dishonored. "What I'm trying to do for you is offer you a possible solution to your current problem."

"What do you want me to do?" Nathan asked, still somewhat suspicious of the praetor's intentions. He didn't think he should be held accountable for something he didn't do. But he also felt somewhat responsible. Responsible that he didn't try to stop them before they committed to the act. Praetor Amos had tried to convict of being an accessory to treason, but the charges were dropped. It wasn't until after the hours and hours of interrogations did the praetor not find anything solid enough to pin him with.

"We need to renew our relationship with the Greeks," she explained, crossing her arms and sighing. "And I think you should be the one for the job."

"Me, why me?" he asked. If he was going to be the one go to the Greeks, he might as well kill himself where he stood. The Greeks probably hated him and his brothers just as much as his own people did, if not worse. Nathan wasn't comfortable about becoming the sacrificial lamb. "You're not talking about like… sacrificing me are you?"

"No, Olympus, no," the praetor reassured him. Nathan let out a sigh of relief. "I want you to become the next ambassador to the Greeks."

"Don't I have to be elected to that position?" Nathan asked, his eyes narrowing on the praetor. He was curious, but still highly suspicious. "I could never win an elected position."

"Surprisingly, the office is appointed by the two and only," she said, giving a mock bow. "The office was founded during my father's term, with Praetor Marcus North. Lucius Darrow was the first ambassador to the Greeks. He was there when they signed the peace charter, officially ending the Greco-Roman conflict that broke out during the Second Gigantomachy."

Nathan was familiar with the history lesson. He _was_ a descendant of Minerva, after all, just as she was. Although totally uncommon, almost thought to be impossible, there were demigods of the goddess Minerva, but only every once in a while. Most of them make it past the history books. People like George Washington, an acclaimed son of the Greek Athena, was at one point or another, suspected of actually being a son of Minerva. A Roman, like his fellow Southerners. To think, someone like Nathan and George Washington would have an identity crisis, Washington's being Roman or Greek, Nathan's friend or enemy of the state, made him feel a little optimistic about himself.

But unlike Nathan, Washington was always regarded as a hero, something the legionnaire never thought he would surmount to.

"I'm not like them," Nathan said at one point. He paced around for a second. "I'm not like your father, Jack Copperfield, Marcus North, or Lucius Darrow. I'm not like any of them. I come from a house of no honor. These men… they're so much greater than I'll ever be."

"Nathan, that's not true," she tried to persuade him. "My father was part of the Third Cohort, he made his own legacy through his skill. Marcus North did the same. Lucius Darrow was almost executed at one point."

Nathan had forgotten about that event. Even great heroes of the previous generation had their moments. Lucius Darrow, despite being known for his relationship with the Greeks, was tried for murder and treason, found guilty and put to death. His godly parent, Mars had just intervened at the right moment. Trial by might. His metal was to be tested by the would-be challenger.

_Just maybe…_ he thought to himself. _No. I can't._

"I can't do this," he said. "I can't do this right now."

"I may have been a bit too sudden, perhaps you could take the rest of the day to think about my offer?" she suggested.

"I… I need to go," Nathan said. He still stood there, though, hoping he would be dismissed soon. He needed some place to think, somewhere to think about this. "Praetor Copperfield, please."

"Very well, you're dismissed," she said, dismissing him.

Nathan quickly exited the Principia. He didn't even think about stopping by Camp Jupiter, but headed straight home. Camp was no place for him to think.

Eyes looked down on him as tugged and threw his way into the city. Old wives spoke to each other, peering at him at the same time. Children ran around him, taunting him, throwing things at him.

"Please, stop," Nathan said, hoping the children would listen to him. He was dressed in his full armor, but weaponless, as Terminus was on border regulation. He had no means of defending him, other than his desperate pleas, but they fell on deaf ears. The children kept on throwing rocks, whatever they could, at him. The old women kept on gossiping. They madness kept on with its cycle, on and on and on and on. "Please!"

It was then he lost control, unleashing a wave of darkness, throwing the children off their feet, shattering several vases, and causing general panic. The children cried, as some of them were hurt, while the old wives began to mob around him, some calling for Terminus to allow the Legion to deal with him.

In seconds, Nathan could hear the marching. Public gatherings were often monitored by the authorities, due to the events of last year. Nathan knew that he was already on his last straw. If they found him here, there would surely be trouble.

Desperately, Nathan tried to think of a plan as the old women began to attempt to apprehend him. He tried to pulling away, but there were too many of them. And he had already hurt some of the children, he didn't want to hurt anyone else. He just wanted to be left alone.

Just then, he thought of a plan. Tapping into his powers from his Pluto lineage, Nathan threw himself into the shadow that laid out on a wall. In one instant, he was shadow-traveling, in the next, he fell to his bed, the stench of old lady hands still fresh on him.

Nathan almost broke out into tears as he laid in bed. He had been close to being assaulted like that, but never so violently. He wanted to hide in the darkness forever, away from the abuses, away from the revenge the people held in their hearts. But the darkness, as he knew, was no place for him to be.

Emerging from a midday's slumber, he found the usual scene in the living room. His father, Mark Coll, one of the veterans who had fought in the Second Gigantomachy, was already a couple of drinks in for the day. Nathan knew that he was just getting started. Hopefully it wouldn't turn in to another one of his beating sessions. He just had to make it past his father and all would be…

"Where did you come from?" his father asked, his voice rough from the burn of drink. He didn't even turn his head, he just knew he was there. Nathan could never evade him. The harder he tried, the more he was disappointed in himself. "Are you deaf? I asked you where did you come from?"

"My… _room_, dad," Nathan said timidly. He was trying to play his words carefully. "I came from my room just now."

That was when his father turned his head. He could see the angry eyes glaring at him.

"Oh, so now you're getting smart on me?" his father said, his voice beginning to pick up. Nathan's breathing started to also pick up. The nearly-drunken veteran got up out of his chair, the television on high volume. "Your brothers thought they were so smart. They thought they could change the world. You think you can change the world, too?"

"No, no I don't," he said, taking a step back. He quickly found the wall. "I don't think I'm going to change the world."

He slapped Nathan across the face. Nathan hit the wall and fell from his feet. His father stood over him, his breath putrid and revolting.

"No, you don't," he said, pouring his drink onto him. "You aren't ever going to change the world with an attitude like that."

"Please, stop!" Nathan pleaded. "Dad, please!"

"Did your brothers stop when they cried out like you're doing now?" he shouted down at him from above. "YOU'RE PATHETIC! YOU'RE NOTHING! YOU'LL NEVER BE ANYTHING!"

Tossing the bottle at him where he was, Nathan kept himself coiled up on the floor. When his father wasn't looking, he quickly ran for the first shadow he could find and shadow-traveled through it.

When he got out through the other side, he ended up at the base of Temple Hill. The sky was just darkening and falling to dusk, soon night. He didn't want to have to deal with the townspeople, so he decided he would wait them out there.

Making his way up the path, he realized how lonely the place was. There wasn't anyone around, which made it the ideal place to wait out someone. It also made it an ideal place to contemplate, to think. He wandered about the shrines of each god. Of course, Jupiter Optimus Maximus (the best and greatest) stood the most prominent, but Nathan didn't feel much affiliation to the king of Olympus. No, he felt himself more drawn to the shrines of Minerva and Pluto. He figured he would try Minerva first.

At the shrine of Minerva, Nathan tried to call out to the goddess.

"Minerva, hear my plea," Nathan called out.

Nothing.

He tried once more and found no success.

"Maybe it's your day off?" Nathan said to the statue of Minerva.

No response.

Maybe she didn't like him. Maybe she too found him responsible for the actions of his brothers. He figured he would try Pluto, but didn't put too much hope into it.

"Pluto, hear my plea," Nathan said half-heartedly to the shrine of Pluto. It was minuscule at best. It seems no one liked Pluto. "I guess we really are related."

Just then, the fires of the shrine began to light greenish in color. They then shot up to a considerable height, dancing, painting pictures and such.

_Nathan Coll, why have you called upon me?_ a voice from the fires spoke to him. _Why do you plea for the lord of the Underworld?_

"I wanted advice… I think," Nathan said nervously. "I was offered a position for ambassador to the Greeks of Camp Half-blood."

_A position of power given so freely has its benefits and rewards_, the voice of Pluto responded. _But know this, you must always be on guard of your peers, for they will always seek to cheat you, to put themselves above you._

"I don't think that's what Praetor Copperfield had in mind… " Nathan muttered to himself.

_Indeed it is!_ the voice of Pluto corrected. _Heed my words, Nathan Coll, son of my son! For I too have been cheated by people who sought a "fair" agreement. Exchanging words for a living is dangerous, more so than it would appear. But you must be as sharp as your tongue, and your blade sharper. Make something of yourself. Rise._

Suddenly, the flames died down, leaving a very unsure Nathan in its wake.

_The following morning_…

Nathan stood in front of the door to the Principia. He had thought about the offer, and what advice Pluto had to impart. He felt even more unsure than he did the previous day. He had hoped he was making the right decision.

Into the Principia he entered, finding both of the praetors preparing for a long day's work, coffee mugs on both of their desks. Nathan and Praetor Amos met eyes, of which Nathan broke, glancing toward Praetor Copperfield.

"Howard, you're scaring him," Praetor Copperfield said to her opposite. "Please, stop."

"Right… " Howard said, getting up from his seat and going into an adjacent room.

"I'm sorry about that," she said to him once they were alone. "Ever since the war, he's been on edge. He's lost a lot, you know."

"I know the feeling," Nathan commented. Hannah smiled, but not as a comical response, but a rather an empathetic gesture. "Praetor, I've made my decision."

"Now Nathan, I know it's a lot, but if you don't want to you don't have- " she began to say before she was cut off.

"I accept," he quickly said.

"What?" she asked, unsure of what she heard.

"I said 'I accept,' " Nathan repeated himself.

"Oh, that's good!" she said excitedly. "That's really good!"

Inside Nathan wanted to break down into tears. That was the first time anyone has praised something he did in a very, very long time.

"Well, I don't have an assignment yet, but I imagine I'll be sending you to Camp Half-blood pretty soon," she continued. "Thank you, Nathan. This really means a lot to us."

"I'll try not to let you down," Nathan said to the praetor.

_At least I hope I won't_.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**III**

**JAKE**

**Jake was baffled by the idea of having to investigate someone who was related to him, even if she was a distant relative**. He knew the surname Westfield to be that of his mother's, at least before she married her father, and took on the Darrow last name. His mother hadn't told him much about the Westfield's, and he had met his grandmother. He only knew that the Westfield's were a very old family, one that had origins within the city of New Rome, possibly somewhere during its inception. If that were the case, that made him part of one of the oldest families in New Rome.

The Omega cell split up into a couple of teams, into groups of three. Due to his little incident back at the briefing, Jake was assigned to be grouped with Cindy Ward, whom he thought was really weird. She had also been acting very suspicious, ever since Howard had given the Order of Romulus their assignments, she seemed like she was supposed to say something, but couldn't.

There were two others assigned with them, but they were too busy looking at lists, maps, and such. That left the awkward silence between Jake and Cindy. The Third Cohort legionnaire decided he was going to break the silence.

"Back at the briefing, you and Scott made eye contact," he spoke to her. She was almost startled when he started talking to her, but she caught on, and listened. Her mouth was shut closed, but her eyes were wide open. She looked almost afraid of him. "Ever since then, you've been acting weird."

She wasn't saying anything.

Jake narrowed his eyes on her.

"You're hiding something," Jake said accusingly towards Cindy. "I'm going to find out what it is."

"It's just that… I'm worried," she finally said. Jake noticed that whenever she spoke, she had some kind of slur in her voice. It may have been one of the reasons why she chose not to speak as much as she did, or did _not_ in this case. "That… this group, they might be like… _them_."

_Them_.

Slumping back in his chair, Jake sighed. He believed her uneasiness was excusable, at least if she thought that they might be dealing with another group bent on destroying the world, or at least all of the demigods. The last group like, the Golden Age Revolution, had gotten very close, wiping out essentially an entire generation of demigods in a series of swift attacks. If they were dealing with another group of people like this, then Jake figured he would have chosen silence out of fear as well.

Except for one point.

Scott knew whatever was in her head at the time Howard was speaking. That must have been why they had to make eye contact with one another. It had to be.

Jake decided he was going to be a little more subtle. Although that wasn't exactly in his skillset, he figured he was going to have to try and think of a way to pull out the truth from the secrets. Agnes Westfield, his whatever, was probably the first clue he needed to get him started.

"Huh, _Westfield_," one of the cell members noted, glancing over at Jake. "Wasn't your mom a Westfield before she got married to your dad?"

"Yeah," he responded. Jake was surprised by how long it took them to figure that bit of information out. "But I've never heard of this lady's name before."

"Huh, weird," the cell member noted. "Well, we might as well clear her off first. Can't have one of our own having ties to a suspect."

He and the other cell member laughed at the joke. Jake and Cindy didn't.

_Of course you wouldn't laugh_, Jake thought to himself. _You're in as deep as Agnes is_.

When they arrived to the Westfield home, the group had decided that the fewer there were, the better. So Jake and Cindy ended up going together. Like before, she wasn't telling him anything.

"Do you know her?" Jake asked Cindy. She shook her head, her gaze focused on the door.

Instead of the door opening, two large boys, er men, came out onto the porch from the side. They looked pretty similar to one another, with very rugged expressions on their face. From the way they crossed their arms, it looked as if they didn't take kindly to them being on the property.

"What do you want?" one of them spoke, his face still rugged and uncompromising.

"Hmm, this one looks familiar," the second spoke to the first. "Kind of like that one girl. And this is the redhead's sister… who is also red haired."

Cindy looked disappointingly at her hair.

"Shut it, Otis," the first said to the other one, who must have been Otis. "You know who the prince isn't in town right now."

_Prince_. Jake was unfamiliar with any princes. But these two were just as viable for information as Agnes was probably going to be. Jake decided he was going to pump these two of information while he still could.

"You know my friend here?" Jake said, glancing at Cindy, who was trying to avoid making eye contact with him.

"Yeah, she's the sister of the bodyguard," Otis clarified. Jake saw Cindy and the other guy glaring at Otis, hoping he would shut his mouth. Jake figured he didn't have much time left before Otis realized how dumb he was. "Hey, Dale, I'm telling you, he looks familiar!"

"Quiet down!" Dale shouted, as he smacked Otis. Otis rubbed the spot he was hit. "We can't slip information to the soldier boy."

"I'm right here, you know," Jake commented. He thought these two, Otis and Dale, were ridiculously stupid.

The two stood there, unsure of how to approach.

"What did you say your name was?" Otis asked Jake.

"Jake, Jake Darrow," he responded.

The two guys looked at each other, then back at Jake.

"Darrow?" Dale said to Otis. "We know a Darrow."

"We _did_," Otis corrected. "He must be her brother!"

"What?" Jake asked, confusingly. He imagined these two must've not been very bright their whole lives. "What are you two talking about?"

"You're family!" Otis said.

Dale smacked him again.

"Family or not, we can't just let anybody see the big lady," Otis scolded his partner. "Especially with the wolves out to get us."

Jake furrowed his eyebrows. Wolves. He knew of only a couple of ways one would use that word. In Roman lore, it was Lupa, the she-wolf, who raised Romulus and Remus, his ancient uncles, through Mars. Lupa, she was the first thing that came up when he thought of wolves. Then there was the similar topic of wolves, that being the Order of Romulus, which used wolf pack terms like alphas, betas. In fact, Jake was in the Omega cell, sometimes called pack, as he was among the youngest of trainees.

_I'm part of the wolves, the Order of Romulus_, Jake told himself. _We're not as subtle as we thought we were_.

"Does Agnes usually not have family come over?" Jake asked the two. He glanced over at Cindy, who still wasn't saying much. Of course not. She was already in too deep.

"Not unless they don't ever come back," an old woman said. Jake and the others looked over and saw her sitting on a rocking chair. He hadn't even noticed her until she spoke. "But you're not like your sister, are you?"

"What do you mean?" Jake asked the old woman. She was… _old_. That much was for sure. She seemed like she was from a completely different time period. And not just by one or two generations. Jake got the feeling she had seen things that most people don't have the life expectancy to. It was a hunch, but he kept it to himself. "I'm not like my sister."

"No, I do not think are you," the old woman commented. She got up out of her rocking chair. "Jacob Darrow, I have been waiting a very long time to meet you."

"… what?" Jake asked, confused. "Who are you?"

"I'm your great-grandmother, of a sort," Agnes revealed herself to him. Otis and Dale seemed to relax from this revelation, her intent toward Jake clear now. "I'm the Matriarch of the Westfield clan. I didn't pick it, the others just began using it, so it stuck."

"Agnes… " Jake muttered, suspicious of his… _great-grandmother?_ If what she was saying was true, that made her the only available next of kin that he was able to make contact with. He had been told that his mom went on a quest for Neptune, so he tried using a Greek communication method known as Iris-messaging, but the calls never seemed to get through. After the first couple of tries, he gave it up, believing the worst. At this point, he wasn't surprised.

Everybody left Jake eventually.

"Do you get a lot of visitors?" he asked.

"No, not really," Agnes said with a grin. Otis and Dale crossed their arms. Cindy was still opting out of the conversation completely. "You're the first one in a while. I see you brought a familiar face. Is she your… what do they call it, girlfriend?"

Jake's eyes widened. Otis and Dale snickered toward each other. He saw Cindy blushing nervously.

"What, no!" Jake quickly intervened. "She's not my girlfriend! I barely know her!"

Cindy fell silent, even more than before. Her expressions were similarly quiet. Eventually, she just ran off, leaving Jake to deal with his wonderful family.

"You probably shouldn't have hurt her feelings," Agnes advised. "She might have been able to help you with whatever you were hoping to accomplish. But now… now I think I need my nap. Come on, boys. Mama needs her shut-eye."

Jake felt a bit ticked off that Cindy let her emotions get the best of her at the cost of the investigation. He was fed up that he was wasting his time with debacles like these. He spent the next couple of minutes tracking her down. He kept searching until he found her by herself.

When Jake saw Cindy, he was quick to yell at her.

"What in Tartarus are you doing?" Jake said. The 13 year old was hot-headed, more so than usual. This stupid Ward girl going around screwing things up. She had no right. Not when there was so much at stake. "We were supposed to be investigating her!"

Like before, Cindy wasn't responding. Their eyes met, but her expression was timid, fearful even. What was she so scared of? It's not like Jake was the kind of person to hit girls. A fact he was sure she was well aware of.

"That's it, I've had it with you," he said, giving up. He began to walk away. "I'll let Howard know, so he can deal with you."

That last part must have done the trick, because she was finally speaking.

"No, wait!" she said, running up to him. She stopped as soon as he did. "You can't tell him! Jake, don't!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Jake asked. He was beginning to feel a little fearful for his caretaker and superior. If Cindy was this afraid, then this group must've been no good.

"Because… " Cindy struggled to say. She looked like she was trying to make a decision whether or not to proceed. "Because he can't know… Jake, please."

"Then tell me," he suggested. It was an ultimatum, a trap between two choices, him or Howard. Either way, he was going to get what he wanted.

But of course, she looked just as discouraged as before. Jake knew she was going to need some prodding if they were going to get anywhere.

"Or what, you can't tell me either?" he asked, mocking her almost. He felt like he was getting angry again. "Am I not supposed to know either?"

"I-I… I can't tell you either," she said, hanging her head. When she picked it up, Jake's glare was still on her. "I-I can only help you arrive to the truth."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, confused. _She could only help him arrive to the truth_. Jake thought about it for a moment. "I don't get it."

"I-I can't tell you, but I can't stop you from finding the truth," she explained to him.

"But you can't help me?" Jake asked. He thought there was a catch coming.

"Find the path, and the rest will open itself up to you," Cindy said. It sounded as though she was saying it to herself. Jake also noticed she was making hand gestures very quickly. Jake wasn't sure what to make of the hand gestures, but at least she wasn't going to be a nuisance.

"If I don't tell Howard, will you help me?" Jake offered.

Cindy's face lit up. She looked at Jake for a moment, possibly thinking that he wasn't sincere. No, that wasn't it. She wanted to believe in him.

After a moment of silence, she finally nodded.

"Good, now, where do we go first?" Jake asked. She led them on what was going to be a long journey.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**IV**

**NATHAN**

**Nathan wasn't sure he wanted to be ambassador when he arrived to Camp Half-blood**. For starters, it was his first time there. He had remembered how his brothers would go over during the cross-camp competitions. His brother, Dwayne, had gotten fourth place last year. And then August came.

Nathan quickly pulled himself together. Ambassadors needed to maintain some kind of public appearance. For him, he was going into hostile (not necessarily enemy) territory. But his cousin, Layla Lobo (albeit his Greek cousin), was there. And there was little Miguel, who just about a year old now. Maybe she'd help him get acquainted with the people.

First things first, he needed to get over the massive hill that stood in front of him. At the top of it, he saw a single tree, with a Golden Fleece hanging around its branches. When he began his ascent, he began to feel like he was going to need to use that tree as a resting spot. The hill was so steep, he was almost climbing. And he thought he had it hard at Camp Jupiter.

Once he got to the top, Nathan saw what laid before him. He had heard that Camp Half-blood had been destroyed, burnt to the ground, completely, last year, but the rumors were in contradiction with what he saw. Large houses, each one unique from the other lined up the green acres. Most were completed, others were in the process of being completed. It was like a new world being colonized.

Tired from his climb up, Nathan decided he would rest against the tree. He took a couple of steps back, trying to lean back on the tree. For a while he did, at least until he saw he realized he was leaning up against a resting dragon, one that had just woken up from its nap. Nathan saw it wasn't particularly too happy to see him.

In a clumsy motion, Nathan tripped forward. He tumbled his way toward the slope and finally over it, rolling and rustling about his way down. His sides hurting, Nathan found himself lying at the feet of a pair of hooves. Two pairs actually. He looked up and saw a strange sight.

"You're… a _centaur_," Nathan pointed out the obvious. He got up to his feet and noticed that the centaur was flanked by one very tall camper with a trident, and another with an impressive looking bow.

"You are… correct," the experienced half-man, half-horse said matter-of-factly. "I assume you are the ambassador Camp Jupiter sent us?"

"Uh-huh," he said, then realized who he was speaking to. He then proceeded to straighten himself out. "I mean, um, yes. I am Ambassador Nathan Coll, Legionnaire of the Fourth Cohort. I'm here on a- "

"Coll?" the tall guy asked, an expression of disgust quickly growing on his face. His hand on his trident starting gripping the shaft tighter.

_Oh no_, Nathan thought. _Why did I just show off my last name like that?!_

"Unbelievable," the other camper said angrily. His gold-colored eyes flared with a hint of anger. "Either this is some sick joke, or Howard is trying to test us."

"Sorry, little man," the tall guy spoke to Nathan. "We don't have time for jokes here. Go on back to Rome."

"B-but… " Nathan tried saying.

"Blake, Wyatt, this is not how we greet our allies," the centaur corrected. Wyatt and Blake exchanged a look between on another. "Why don't you two go back to your duties while I speak with… Nathan was it?"

The two older boys grumpily walked away and went off to do their duties. The centaur gestured for him to follow.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that," he spoke as the two walked through the camp. Nathan felt a little out of place with his purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt, while everyone where their orange. He also noticed how many people were looking at him, probably talking about him. For a moment, he thought about the other day, back in New Rome… "But you have to understand where they're coming from. I'm sure you've heard about what your brothers had done. Blake and Wyatt had both lost so much in the war last year. I'm Chiron by the way. I trained them, and everyone here."

"Everyone?" Nathan asked, looking around at all the campers, who were also different in shapes and sizes. He couldn't imagine all of them huddling in to listen to him speak for a lesson. "But there are so many people here!"

"Indeed there," Chiron confirmed. "That is why I had taken on the gift of immortality, so that may I live forever to train Greek demigods into heroes."

Back home, there wasn't necessarily a singular teacher. Often, a recruit had to stick close to his Centurion for advice. A lot of stuff he had teach himself, especially since his brothers weren't going to do it for him anymore. Nathan was a little disappointed when Chiron said _Greek_ demigods.

"Are you the leader of Camp Half-blood?" Nathan asked. It was a purely political question.

"I try not to think of myself as leader," Chiron admitted, chuckling a little. "I leave that to the campers to decide amongst themselves. _Demokratia_, ha! No, I am the mentor, the trainer. Teacher, if you like."

"Then who is the leader?" Nathan continued his line of questions.

"Like your Senate, the campers like to maintain a leadership of multiple individuals," Chiron explained, as the two walked past a rock wall with lava pouring down it. He saw a few campers climbing up it anyway. Nathan gulped. "You see those houses? Each one is a home for each of the major Olympians. Over the past couple of decades, we've had many new additions. We used to call them cabins, but with times changing, campers like to call them 'houses'. A representative from each house will meet over in the Big House's basement to coordinate the camp."

"I see," Nathan noted. "It seems like you Greeks are pretty organized. Er, I mean… "

"It's okay, I understand your intent," Chiron assured him. "Nathan, I understand families hold a place among your society, from which god does your lineage descend from?"

"My dad is a son of Pluto," Nathan told Chiron. "And my mom is a legacy of Minerva. Why do you ask?"

"Well you are here on a diplomatic mission, meaning you'll need to stay for a couple of nights," Chiron said, as he led Nathan to a house made obsidian-like walls. Bowls of green fire lit the walkway. "Ever since we had to restart, we decided to better complement the… _descendants_ of the gods. Before only immediate children of a god could stay in their respective cabin, with Hermes being an exception. Now, we've expanded the cabins into houses, and legacies shall stay in the cabin of their father demigod."

Nathan thought about his father. Mark Coll, Fourth Cohort, son of Pluto, abusive father. The house that stood before him reminded Nathan of him. It seemed that even on the other side of the country, he wasn't going to escape his father.

"I can't stay in the Athena House?" Nathan asked Chiron. There wasn't much noise coming from inside, making him feel a little lonely.

"I'm sorry, but this is what the campers had agreed to," Chiron said solemnly. "When you get situated, we have some activities planned. Tonight's the big game."

"Big game?" Nathan gulped. He knew he could easily figure out the rules once he was playing the game, but he wasn't expecting there to be any game. He was trying to maintain a healthy relationship between the Greeks and Romans! How could he do that when he was playing games? "Oh, sure. Okay."

"Pardon me, I have an archery lesson to resume," Chiron parted, leaving Nathan to situate himself in the House of Hades.

Opening the door, he found the place to be surprisingly… _not_ dead. It looked as if people were actually living there. Nathan quickly deducted it was the work of his cousin, Layla Lobo, who was a legacy of Aphrodite, the Roman form of Venus. The goddess of love and beauty's reach extended to even here, in the House of Hades.

The entrance room had a couple of dated couches and chairs, probably where residents would congregate. He saw that there were doors to the bathrooms on both sides. On his immediate left was the men's side. Although it was empty, and therefore gave no indication of this, Nathan was able to figure it out due to the opposite bathroom's sink top cluttered with beauty products.

Suddenly, Nathan heard the sound of feet propelling themselves down the flight of stairs in front of him. He was a bit nervous when he saw the biggest pitch-black mastiff bounding down the flight of stairs and right for him. It leapt on to him and began barking repeatedly. With the beast's face so close to his, the barks were like sucker-punches to his eardrums.

"Uh, nice dog," Nathan tried to reason, but his faltering voice gave way.

Soon, another pair of feet made their way down the stairs. Thankfully, they sounded like human footsteps this time.

"Bad Diablo!" a girl reprimanded. "Nathan is family! Bad dog!"

The large dog whimpered and retracted from Nathan, moving to meet his cousin's side. It then sat submissively by her foot, panting.

Layla Lobo, daughter of Nicholas Lobo (son of Hades) and Nicole Lobo (daughter of Aphrodite), was Nathan's Greek cousin. She was also one of the few cousins she had through the lord of the Underworld. She was about 17, with a gorgeous combination of blue eyes and radiant blond hair that would have made any guy melt and girl jealous of her.

She ran up and hugged him. This was the first expression of love he had received in a very long time.

"Oooh, Nathan, I'm so glad you're here!" Layla said enthusiastically. "This place was getting so boring with just Miguel _y yo_."

"Is it just you two here?" Nathan asked her, looking around at the place. Miguel was just a year old, meaning that this whole place was basically available to just them two.

"Well, not exactly," Layla clarified. "He's at the nursery day care with some of the other legacy babies. Melody Thompson has her sister, Daisy, over there."

A nursery day care. This place had that. New Rome had been able to survive and live on so long through the legacies and their families. Maybe the Greeks were finally learning from the Romans after all. It was the small things like this that made Nathan just a little optimistic about maintaining Greco-Roman relations.

"You want to get situated?" Layla suggested, gesturing him to follow her upstairs. He nodded, following. "We have plenty of rooms. Just pick which one you like and make yourself at home."

"Huh, I wasn't expecting this place to be so… normal," Nathan commented, noting the paint job on the walls.

The two, followed by Diablo, passed by Layla's room, of which the door was open. He saw so much pink he thought his retinas were going to explode from color overload. Luckily, he was able to look away while he still could and went on to find a room for himself. He decided he would pick the room next to hers.

He went in and found a small, but empty bedroom. All the unoccupied rooms had been painted different colors, Nathan picking the gray-colored one. It reminded him of Minerva, a feeling that made him comfortable. A desk sat against a wall, along with a chair of a matching white color. The bed against the adjacent wall sat under a window. Although the bed had no sheets, Nathan was prepared and brought a sleeping bag, in case he was going to be forced to sleep on the ground. Thankfully, he had the hospitality of his cousin, making him feel a little better.

Looking out the window, Nathan saw some trees, past some of the other houses.

"It's weird," Layla commented. Nathan was still looking at the trees. "This whole place got burnt down, but those trees are still there. Doesn't make any sense."

_Weird, indeed,_ Nathan told himself. He made a mental note to investigate that, should he be given the chance.

Nathan spent some time unpacking his things from his bag and implementing them into his new room. He had packed with everything he thought he would need. Thankfully, his line of work didn't require him to travel with a lot of gear.

_Gladius_, check. _Plugio_, check. Compass, check. Journal, check. He went through his things again, and a third time. He liked making sure everything was there, reading his lists. It was almost like a sense of control, something that he could keep under control.

He was just about done when he heard a knock on the door. Nathan felt compelled to go and answer it, but Layla was already running down the stairs.

"I got it," she said she scurried down the stairs. From the top floor, Nathan stood and watched as she opened the door. It was the tall boy from earlier, Wyatt, who was standing there. "Oh, hey, _chico_!"

Layla then proceeded to kiss Wyatt. Nathan took the time to look away, feeling a little awkward.

"Hey, it's time," Wyatt responded. He was focusing in on Layla until he caught a glimpse of Nathan from the corner of his eye. "… what are you doing here?"

Nathan waved his hand awkwardly.

"Wyatt!" Layla shrieked, hitting him on the arm. "_¡Ello es mi primo!_"

"Oh… " Wyatt said with an embarrassed look on his face. "I didn't know _he_ was your cousin."

"Well, he is!" she defended Nathan. That made the ambassador feel a little proud. Someone in his family was standing up for him. "And I don't appreciate the things you've said about him."

"I didn't say anything about him- " Wyatt said before being cut off by Layla.

"Wyatt… " Layla said in a stern voice, warning him.

"Okay, fine," Wyatt gave up. He looked up at Nathan. "I'm sorry about what I said about you. We cool?"

"Cool," Nathan said, nodding. "What's going on?"

"He doesn't know?" Wyatt asked, like Nathan was saying something taboo. "Oh, right, Roman. Uh, yeah, it's a big game tonight."

_Big game_. Chiron had said something about that earlier. He wasn't exactly sure what kind of game it was, but his anticipation was increasing with each passing moment.

"Come on, we're going to be late," Wyatt advised, gesturing for them to go with him. Nathan followed the two, descending down the flight of stairs. "Hope you're fast on your feet, Coll."

Nathan followed Wyatt and Layla. They stopped by the armory, gearing up for what Nathan could interpret as war. The three of them got leather armor, shin guards and bracers. Realizing that he was going to be forced to use a weapon, he ran back to get his _gladius_, made of Imperial Gold, as the Roman tradition had it.

When he got back, he saw that Wyatt and Layla were no longer there. In fact, the whole armory had been cleared out of its stock. Only a few weapons, those that served little use, were left. There was also some unusable bits of armor in a barrel, probably for recycled use elsewhere.

_Where could they be?_ Nathan thought to himself, panicked.

The woods on his horizon, Nathan decided he would head there. It seemed like the only place, since there was no one else around. Deductive reasoning was one of Nathan's strong suits.

Into the woods he went. He kept on walking until he saw a large group of people gathering around. Some of them noticed him, giving him distrustful glares. Others cleared the way for him, giving him the same look. He saw an opening that lead him to Chiron, so he walked right on through.

"… and those are the rules we shall play by tonight," Chiron explained to the mass. Unfortunately for Nathan, he didn't hear any of the rules. Too bad. With a smack of his hoof to the ground, the game was set for ready. "Red team, blue team, take your positions!"

Nathan saw the crowd split into two, one side heading for one direction, and the other in the other direction. Not sure which team he was on, Nathan quickly made an observation of the two teams as they rushed off to their spots. While he couldn't make much distinction between the two, he noticed that the plumes on their helmets and stripes were either red or blue. Nathan took a quick look at his armor and saw that is was blue.

_Okay, I'm blue_, he noted, rushing after his fellow blue team members.

Nathan had no idea what he was getting himself into.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**V**

**JAKE**

**Jake had no idea where Cindy was taking him**. For all he knew, she was leading him to certain doom. But a voice at the back of his head told him otherwise. It wasn't telling him to trust her, but not to expect the worse from her. Jake quickly shut that part of his mind, knowing very well that he should expect the worse from her, especially since she's been hiding information with the Order of Romulus. She was in on this, from what he could tell. He wasn't sure how far, but he was eager to find out.

The two went on a cross-city journey that took him to a part of town he had never really paid much attention – his neighborhood. The Old Rome district was as the name described it to be. The buildings there hadn't received much renovation over the years, even when he was living there. It was if it was supposed to stay this way. Jake began to think that maybe it has.

"Where are we going?" Jake asked Cindy as they wandered through district.

"You'll see," Cindy said almost cheerfully. Jake grabbed her by the arm. She tried pulling away, but he wasn't letting go.

"No, if we're going to do this, you need to start talking to me," Jake spoke assertively. He was being very aggressive with her, but he did it because he couldn't trust her. "Now, where are we going?"

Cindy sighed, then pointed to a fountain. They were in a public area, with plenty of people around, some of whom were beginning to have their suspicions of _him_. Jake let go of her arm. Cindy rubbed it. He must've been holding too tight.

Jake exhaled. Maybe if they were in a public area, Cindy wouldn't try to pull anything on him.

Hopefully.

For now, Jake followed Cindy's finger and saw the fountain she was pointing at. He swore he must have seen it from somewhere. He lived in the neighborhood, but didn't remember this fountain.

Jake walked up to it and took note of the statues on top. Two warriors were in combat, one of them about to deliver the death blow, the other, receiving it. Jake thought he knew what this was depicting, a battle of some kind. He wasn't sure, but he understood that he had to identify the people of the statues if he was going to get anywhere.

Looking around, Jake saw an inscription on the side of the fountain's pool:

_Follow the bloodline_

_Through back in time_

_Of the ancestors of Rome_

_Find our new home_

It was all written in some form of ancient Latin he wasn't exactly familiar with, but somehow was able to read it. Roman demigods were naturally gifted with being able to read ancient Latin, but this wasn't the Latin he and his kin understood. It looked even older than his race's language, more archaic.

"Follow the bloodline?" Jake asked himself. He began to think of the legacies. They were technically bloodlines descending from the gods. But even if that were so, he didn't feel that was enough to go on. No, he was going to need to find the bloodline of the ancestors of Rome. "The first families, is that who we're looking for?"

Cindy nodded.

"But you aren't going to tell me which ones are the first?" he asked.

"You already know one of them," Cindy revealed.

_No, I don't_, Jake told himself. Then a thought hit him. He had been told that the Westfield's were one of the oldest families in New Rome. Maybe he could look into them. Maybe he could find the next clue there.

"Where are we going?" Cindy asked this time.

"The Hall of Records," Jake replied, leading the two for a change.

They went to the Hall of Records, which was near the Senate House. It was a considerably large building that looked like a huge library on the inside and out. Inside, however, it was massive. Colossal bookcase after colossal bookcase lined both sides of the massive room. Workers tended to the bookshelves standing on ladders that let them slide across from one side of the bookcase to the other.

Maybe heading to Hall of Records wasn't such as great of an idea as Jake had thought. Still, he needed to figure out what Cindy was involved in, especially if it meant working with an underground group. Only the Order of Romulus could do that.

Jake went to the head table and saw a woman busy at work. It took a while for her to notice them.

"Hey, we need your help," Jake said to the woman. She glanced at him, then refocused on her work.

"This is the Hall of Records," she stated. "What could two kids possibly be doing here?"

"We need to do some research on the founding families," Jake tried to explain. "For… um, a cultural assignment."

"Cultural assignment... " she said suspiciously. "I don't think so. If you have no _actual_ business here, please leave."

"Now just wait a minute- " Jake tried saying to the woman, but she completely ignoring him. After a second, she put a _please do not disturb_ sign on the desk top.

Jacob was beginning to get really angry, almost to the point where he was going to start throwing his title of Legionnaire around. But just as he was about to outburst, Cindy stepped in. Surprised, Jake let her do whatever she had up sleeve.

"Actually, there is something," Cindy told the woman. "My brother's the augur and he's been looking for some names of previous augurs to commemorate them in a festival next week."

"There's no augur festival next week," the woman shot down. But Jake saw that Cindy wasn't going to give up.

"Well, I guess I should go tell him, who's also a Centurion and holds a seat on the Senate, about why I couldn't get your help. Think about it, all those angry people who aren't celebrating, because they can't."

Cindy and the woman locked eyes for a moment.

"Fine," she said, giving up. "Tell me what you need."

"Oh, there's a lot," Cindy explained to the woman. Jake noticed she was making a hand gesture, like she was trying to shoo something away. It just dawned on him that she was distracting the woman so he could go and look for the clue. "I'll need a name of every augur from Martin del Sol to the last twenty or so."

Jake took the hint and slipped past the woman at the desk. He quickly searched his way past the aisles on the right. When he was almost down at the end of the long hall, he looked back at the front desk, where Cindy was distracting the woman. Their eyes met and Jake shrugged. He didn't know where he should be looking. Cindy nodded her head toward her left, his right. Jake looked to his immediate right and saw one bookshelf that stood out in particular – _Family Histories_.

_Bingo_, Jake told himself. He went at the bookshelf, looking for the W's, the first letter of the Westfield's. Jake couldn't believe how many different families had legacies in New Rome. Most of them he hadn't recognized from the Legion. He found the Westfield's somewhere between Ward's and Wood's.

Jake pulled out the first Westfield book he saw and flipped it open. Most of it was in a really old manuscript form. The technology in the printing slowly got better as he turned a couple of dozen pages. He stopped until he saw his mother, Carolina Westfield, daughter of Stacey Westfield (who was also in the Third Cohort). But Jake couldn't find what god the family had descended from.

_Follow the bloodline, through back in time_, Jake reminded himself, from the inscription on the fountain bowl. Flipping back to the front, Jake tried finding the first person to actually adopt the name of Westfield. He found someone, but they were born just a little over two hundred years ago. A demigod legacy by the name of Silas Westfield, served the Confederacy during the American Civil War. As great as that was, Jake didn't think that was the person he was looking for.

Jake tried going as far back as he could, but came up with nothing. Everything before Silas Westfield was gone, missing. The pages were still there, but pasted over the names of where the ancestors would have been, a note said: _See Aenaes_. Jake also made another discovery, but pocketed it for later.

Suddenly, a hand laid on his shoulder. It was the woman at the front desk. Before Jake could even say anything in his defense, he was being dragged out by the security guards who had showed up from out of nowhere. He was then tossed out of the Hall of Records.

Cindy came to his side to help him up, but he was already getting himself up. Everything happened so fast he almost wasn't able to process it all. There was so much he didn't know about his family. He felt like he was just scratching the surface of it, especially since the earliest named individual in his family history was Silas Westfield, who was born in 1848. People from before that time were listed as _See Aeneas_.

_Aeneas_.

Jake thought he knew that person. He wasn't able to immediately identify him, but he knew he was pretty important, like one of the old heroes. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't as brushed up on his historic demigods as someone like Cindy was. Speaking of Cindy…

"Did you find anything?" Cindy asked him.

"Yeah, the Westfield family history," Jake spoke. "The list of my ancestors cuts off at 1848. Everyone else before him is listed as _See Aeneas_. I'm not completely familiar with the guy. But I know he's important, somehow. You're a descendant of Minerva, maybe you know something?"

"Aeneas, yeah," she said. "He was a son of Venus, one of the first, I think."

"So you're saying I'm a descendant of the first Roman demigod, _ever?_" Jake inquired, curious as to what importance that had. It would be kind of awesome if he was. But if he was, then why wasn't he recognized as that? Why hadn't his mom told him about that?

_Because they didn't know_, Jake speculated to himself. _No, I need more information before I can make that kind of judgment on them like that._

"I don't know," Cindy responded. Jake had his suspicions, but decided not to pursue them.

_Think, think_, Jake thought to himself. _Who knows about the Westfield family history?_

Jake thought about it for a moment, with Cindy standing nearby. It suddenly dawned on him that he should try talking to the woman he was sent to investigate, back to square one, essentially.

On the way to Agnes' home, Jake asked Cindy about Aeneas. She wasn't letting him on anything just yet, so Jake knew that this guy was worth investigating. First things first, however, meaning Agnes would be the first lead to check out.

Back at the Westfield home, Jake saw Otis and Dale relaxing on the front porch. They shot up to their feet, alarmed by his return, but Jake disregarded them and went over to knock on the front door. He figured they were his extended family, like second cousins or something, but would confront them if they were going to get in the way. He even glanced over at them, who were just standing there, a little hesitant of how to approach him.

When the door opened, Agnes was there to answer. She look just a little surprised.

"Oh, you're back?" she greeted.

"Yeah, I needed to ask you some questions," Jake explained to her. It was a little ironic, because that was the reason why he had first shown up to her residence. Now, it was like he was on a loop. Hopefully this time, however, with Cindy on his side (sort of), he would be able to make some kind of progress. "It's about the family, _our_ family."

"Then you have come with a clear intent," Agnes said enigmatically. She opened the door completely to let them in. "Please, come in."

Agnes led the two to a living room with very dated architecture. It seemed like she had a taste for antique items, probably because she was one. There were vases of battles, with warriors of suspiciously Greek-like appearances. Jake noted them, believing that this was supporting evidence for one of the things he found while reading about his family history.

"Two things," Jake prompted. He was sitting on an old chair that made him feel like he was in another time period. "One, I want to know which god the Westfield family descends from."

"What do you know so far?" Agnes asked in response.

"I know that the Westfield's are rumored to be one of the founding families of New Rome," Jake answered, recalling the rumor. "I also know that the earliest recorded individual in the family line was Silas Westfield, who was born in 1848. But what I don't know is the relation between our family line and Aeneas, or whoever it is."

"I'm surprised they have even that much information in the Hall of Records," Agnes commented, chuckling a little. "Well, here. Let me show you this."

Agnes walked over to a bookcase nearby and retrieved an old tome. Jake was a little fazed when he saw how much dust she had to blow off of it. He swore the thing must have been ancient. She then handed it over to Jake and sat back down.

Jake carefully flipped the old book open. He was suddenly and immensely exposed to so much information at once. It wasn't just his family history in there, it was a chronology of human and mythical history. He found everything from the American Civil dating all the way back to Aeneas. But Jake was curious as to why it started with him, of all people.

"Why was he so important?" Jake asked.

"Aeneas?" Agnes spoke. "Oh, of all the characters in the Iliad, Homer didn't pay too much attention to him. Virgil, on the other hand, knew someone important when saw one, so he ended up writing the Aeneid. Quite a decent attempt at painting the true story, but given Virgil, I'd cut him some slack."

"What are you talking about?" Jake asked for clarification, as he still wasn't so sure about what he was processing. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm surprised you haven't read about him," Agnes said a little disappointingly. "Always the love story with the sparkling ones. Aeneas was a war hero."

"During which war?" Jake asked.

"The Trojan War," Agnes responded. "He was a Trojan, true. But when the gates were finally opened to the Greeks, he had to flee. And so he did. What most don't know, before Romulus and Remus, Aeneas was the first Roman demigod. He was actually _their_ ancestor through their mother."

Jake immediately found a connection between the founders of Rome and himself. If what the books were saying was true, then that meant that he was a long descendant of Aeneas (through his mother), as well as of Mars (through his father), just like Romulus and Remus were. It wasn't in his nature to feel self-entitled, but in that small epiphany, he felt like he should be recognized for that. That small self-betrayal was quickly extinguished. It was rather just fascination, if anything.

"So… we're his descendants?" Jake asked. He couldn't believe it.

"Yes, just as the Julio-Claudian dynasty made claim," Agnes responded. "We are the descendants of a great man, the true founder of what would be Rome."

"That's… incredible," Jake uttered, astounded. But he quickly refocused himself for his next topic. "I read through the names of the Westfield family for the last two hundred years, but I couldn't quite find something."

"Oh, what was that?" Agnes asked.

"You," Jake stated. "Your name was completely absent for the last two hundred years, and then I look through here… and find, ah yes. _Agnes Westfield, born 1820_. So tell me, _grandma_. How did the Matriarch of the Westfield clan acquire immortality?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**VI**

**NATHAN**

**Nathan had to hand it off to himself.** For someone who just jumped into the game without knowing any rules, he was doing pretty well not getting himself killed. His mind was analyzing all the different possible scenarios as to how the game was supposed to be played. Of course, he could have just asked the nearest blue team member, if any of them were willing to talk to him.

Blue team, red team. Colors to distinguish one individual from another. They would be moving around very quickly, probably too fast to identify people from facial recognition. Armor, weapons. They were going to be forced to combat with one another at one point or another. Nathan tried evaluating the two properties, while catching up with the rest of his team. It was difficult to navigate through the darkness of the woods, especially since the sun was already setting.

The further into the woods, the further the distance that grew between him and the others. Eventually, he was by himself, standing by a stream. He could hear the clashing of metal against metal. There were shouts, orders, commands, between other players in the game. Organization. Nathan wished he had this right about now. Organization was key, it was survival.

Nathan thought about following the sound of the fighting. He considered the probability of running into the thick of the red team. That's when it dawned on him.

_That's only if they see me_, Nathan thought to himself. _What if I became… invisible?_

He considered the probability of using godly powers in this game a violation of the rules. He took into account of people using real weapons, then decided he would take the risk.

Back when his brothers were around, they would teach him different things he could do with shadow manipulation. The beginner shadow manipulator could shadow travel every so often. Nathan managed to work on his abilities to the point where he could let his imagination let him do anything. He was always thinking of new ways to expand his abilities. Shadow travel a mile one day, double the next, and so on. Eventually, he pushed it past shadow travel.

Nathan took a deep breath and willed himself to become a shadow, literally. He called it _shadow walking_, because he was practically walking invisible to the naked eye. The only drawback, however, other than the amount of power he consumed, was that he physical shadow somehow remained. He wasn't sure how, even after thinking up different equations on the properties of light and matter. As far as he knew, he wasn't able to pull up anything.

When he was in his shadow walking mode, he advanced toward the sound of the fighting. If they couldn't see him, they he couldn't be caught. It was as simple as that. In minutes, he saw blue and red team fighters waging war with another. He saw his cousin, Layla, fighting side by side with Wyatt, who were practically mowing down red team members.

Nathan was surprised when he saw Layla detect him.

"Nathan, is that you?" she asked, walking toward him after they had cleared the area of the red team. Wyatt didn't have the same perception as she did, which showed why he was confused when she decided to approach Nathan. "What kind of power is this?"

Nathan willed himself to become visible. Wyatt almost jumped where he stood, shocked.

"Dude, that's kind of cool," he admitted. Nathan appreciated that.

"Thanks, it's something I've been working on for a couple of years," Nathan explained. The two older campers looked impressed. Nathan liked showing off his accomplishments, something he probably picked up from his mother, who probably picked it up from Minerva. "I call it _shadow walking_."

"I've never been able to pull off something like that," Layla responded. "I've only been able to shadow travel and the occasional shadow extension, like an arm or something. That's really good, Nathan. You'll have to teach me sometime."

"Negative," Wyatt commented. His tone then turned into a playful. "I don't you sneaking up on me like that. Its… weird. Hey, wait. I got an idea!"

"What is it?" Layla asked. Wyatt's gaze shifted to Nathan, resembling something more like a kid with a magnifying glass playing with ants.

"If you can do your shadow walking trick, you can sneak right in and take their flag!" Wyatt explained. Nathan quickly realized they were playing capture the flag. His confidence in his competency in this game did not falter, because he had been playing a similar version back at Camp Jupiter, albeit a much larger version of it. "We would just need to provide a distraction for you so they won't detect you running off with their flag."

"I like the idea," Nathan complimented.

"Me too," Layla echoed. "I'm surprised you were able to come up with it."

"Insanity tends to be right half the time," Wyatt joked. "If we can pull this off correctly, they won't have enough time to react."

"Right, so I go in stealth-mode?" Nathan asked, readying himself to become a shadow.

"Stealth-mode, I like that," Wyatt said, chuckling a little. "You're kind of funny, Coll."

Nathan grinned, then willed himself to become his own shadow.

"Weird, I can still see you, but just in a _shadowy_ kind of form," Layla commented.

"Well, hopefully it's just the Hades kids, er Pluto kids also, who can see it," Wyatt spoke. "If that were the case, it would just be you two, thankfully. I don't know how I would deal with you guys if you all were walking around as a bunch of shadows. It's freaking weird."

"I think it's because of the Hades/Pluto lineage," Nathan suggested. It seemed like the only logical conclusion at the time. "Okay, I'm going now."

"Good luck," Layla said in a hushed tone. Wyatt nodded.

"Let's do this," Wyatt initiated.

Nathan crept his way while shadow walking. After the first couple of minutes, he was sweating from the power consumption. Hopefully, he wasn't going to hold this up for too long, because he estimated that he would most likely be unable to. He walked right past three of the red team members without so much as making one of them suspect anything. A couple of yards past them, he could begin to see the flag. Nathan began to feel the excitement of closing in on his objective. He was so excited he hadn't realized he snapped a twig until it was too late.

Suddenly, an arrow hit the ground just a few feet right in front of him. Nathan suspected it was a shot meant for a visible prey, but Nathan was no typical prey. This organism had learned how to use camouflage! His pride, however, hadn't prepared for the second arrow, landing next to the first. It unleashed a wave of light energy, temporarily blinding Nathan and forcing him out of stealth mode.

Nathan detected a pair of feet landing to the ground. The same pair began advancing toward him.

"What in Olympus?" a familiar voice spoke. Nathan remembered the voice belonging to Blake. If Blake had fired the arrows when he was close to the red team's flag…

Nathan quickly took control of senses and rolled and dove into the nearest shadow, momentarily shadow traveling, until he appeared right behind Blake and reached out with a shadow extension and yanked him off of his feet.

With Blake on his feet, Nathan darted for the red team's flag. He yanked it out from its post and ran off back to where he thought the dividing line was, flag in one hand and sword in the other. He could detect other campers, most likely from the red team, pressing hot on his trail, some of the lighter ones closing in on him faster than the others.

If Nathan hadn't used up so much power from his shadow walking, he would have at least tried to create some distance between him and his pursuers. Alas, it was all on going to depend on his physical abilities in the end.

Nathan kept running until he abruptly stopped at the edge of a considerably high drop down into the creek. He had managed to put himself in a situation with only two possible choices. He could either hope to stand his ground and fight the red team off. Estimating his energy reserves, he determined that was not a viable option. The other option, the one he was totally not in favor of doing, was to jump. He wasn't sure how deep it was, and was too busy fending off what was probably some offspring of Hermes, to determine its depth from visual ability.

Just then, he heard Wyatt behind him from across the creek.

"Nathan, you have to jump!" he shouted to him. With a stroke from the flag's shaft, Nathan was able to temporarily incapacitate the Hermes spawn. "I can manipulate the water. I'll catch you!"

"I don't know… " he said nervously. He looked at the stream and began to contemplate whether or not he should jump. He considered throwing the flag to Wyatt, but took into account the possibility of there being a rule against throwing the flag to another player, as well as the creek's width. Even with the height of where he stood altitude-wise, there wasn't much of a chance to…

_No more equations_, Nathan told himself. _Either I jump, or I attempt to make my stand here_.

Letting out a deep breath, Nathan fell backward into the creek. As he fell, he felt himself touch the water, but not become overwhelmed by it. Instead, he was being… _pulled_ by it. Yes, that's what it was. Wyatt was pulling him. But then Nathan opened his eyes, and saw himself being pulled closer and closer to the red team's side of the creek. A boy, probably about his own age, was willing the waters, surpassing Wyatt's ability. A girl, with blond hair and sea green eyes, was also willing the waters in their favor.

Nathan struggled in the water's trap, but couldn't get himself free. He knew going into the water was the worst idea for any descendant of Pluto or Hades, even Jupiter or Zeus. It was a no safe zone for him. He had to be cautious when he took a bath when he was younger, just because…

Just as Nathan reached the bank, he saw Wyatt leap over him and land in front of him, slashing a wide arc with his blue trident. The swing created a comfortable distance for the tall boy, at the same time relinquishing the red team's control of the waters.

"Jo, water wall, now!" Blake shouted to the blond girl. She summoned the forces of the water, or at least a portion of it, forcing a section of the water to shoot up vertically. It effectively created a barrier that Nathan was hesitant to try to break through. "I'll keep Wyatt busy. Derek, get the flag back! We can't let him pass."

Blake whipped out a small pair of dual swords that he kept in scabbards on his sides. His versatility made up for his shorter weapon's reach, compared to the length of Wyatt's trident. The two fought like people bent on war. Nathan would have taken the moment to study and analyze their fighting patterns, if it weren't for the kid with the big axe coming right at him.

The boy who must have been Derek swung at Nathan. The Fourth Cohort Legionnaire knew better than to try to parry with that kind of weapon, so he was going to try to dodge and avoid the weapon for as long as he could. At the same time, however, he was analyzing his axe-crazed friend for any openings or weaknesses in his form. Nathan could find none, discouraging him. This Derek must have been some kind of dual legacy of Poseidon and one of the war gods, like Ares. He figured the brutish, but effective offense implied such pedigree.

Derek shot a kick at Nathan's exposed center, instantly knocking the air right out of him and sending him crashing to the ground. Nathan took a split second to inhale, but rolled out of the way as he saw the axe head coming down right on top of him.

A moment of opportunity struck as the axe was caught in the ground, making Derek essentially weaponless. Nathan struck him against the head with the pommel of his _gladius_, temporarily stunning him and giving Nathan enough time to get back on his feet and run into the creek.

"Layla, get the water girl!" Nathan shouted desperately as he waded across the rapidly deepening creek. In moments, the water was almost up to his waist, greatly decreasing his speed. The other side was so close, but so far. Plus, the water wall of certain doom wasn't helping him.

Nathan then saw Layla shadow travel across the creek and ram into Joanna, instantly forcing the water wall to collapse. That only left Derek, who was busy slowing Nathan's pace as much as demigodly possible. With great perseverance, Nathan urged himself to pull forward. One foot in front of the other, the tug of the water was becoming greater and greater. But Nathan couldn't give up. He had come too far to slip up now. Inch by inch, he fought his way across the water, until finally, he broke free and crashed onto the bank of the blue team's side.

Victory for the blue team!

The fighting between campers immediately stopped. Nathan saw Wyatt and Blake be gentlemen and congratulate each other on a well fought game. He also saw Joanna and Layla do the same. Nathan then let out a shout of triumph, which Layla and Wyatt soon joined in on. In a couple of moments, Nathan could begin to hear other people from the woods echo his cry.

Nathan felt himself being lifted off of his feet, but soon realizing that Wyatt was putting him on his shoulders. He felt almost as tall as the trees. It was incredible. In one hand, Nathan waved the red team's flag victoriously, while raising his sword arm in the air.

He couldn't believe the outsider, the brother of the two most hated Roman demigods, had won a Camp Half-blood Capture the Flag game on his first attempt. He felt so proud. Hubris or not, he didn't want to let go of this feeling.

Wyatt took him to the congregation of campers, with Chiron making his way to the center. Blue team campers cheered and cheered. Even if they didn't like Nathan, they sure as Tartarus liked victory.

Chiron extended his hand, to which Nathan surrendered the red team's flag. Chrion then presented to all campers.

"The game is over!" Chiron declared. He looked toward Nathan. "The Blue Team claims victory over the Red Team. Nathan Coll! You have won this victory for your team. Congratulations!"

"First time in weeks," Wyatt commented. Nathan suspected much, from the amount of positive feedback his team was giving from the victory. But then, Wyatt pulled something Nathan wasn't quite expecting. "LET THE POST-GAME PARTY BEGIN!"

A roar of positive response sounded through the campers. Nathan, still atop Wyatt, was lead to the party area, where he was later allowed to use his feet once more. Camp Jupiter, as well as New Rome, had its fair share of festivals and celebrations, but the Greeks seemed to really know how to party. Nathan was almost a little overwhelmed by the amount of partying the Greeks were pulling off. Satyrs, draiads, and other non-demigods joined in on the celebrations.

"Three cheers for this guy!" Wyatt shouted, pointing at Nathan. For once, the Greeks didn't look at him with disgust or mistrust. They were happy to look at him, cheering him on. "Hip, hip!"

"Hooray!" the campers said, and then twice more. Things for Nathan were starting to look pretty good.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general setting some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**VII**

**JAKE**

**Jake wanted the truth from Agnes**. Immortality wasn't something he was particularly interested in, but knew that with all the lives she's lived, she must have known something about their connection to Aeneas and this quest of secrets he was pursuing.

"How are you immortal?" Jake asked again. She was deliberating, probably finding some way to play it down. But he was able to see past it. He knew too much to be ignorant. He had to know.

"I must first inform that my real name is not Agnes," she explained. Jake knew there was going to be a revelation about a lie in there somewhere, he just wasn't expecting it to be so soon.

"Then what is your real name?" he asked.

"Clara," she simply stated. "I am, however both Clara and Agnes. I was born Clara, but when my mother died, I became Agnes, as she had when her mother passed on."

"I don't understand," Jake spoke.

"I am Agnes Westfield," she declared. Jake was beginning to become really confused at this point. "Long ago, Silas, son of the past Agnes, was stripped away from his mother. In her sorrow, she made a plea with the gods. That for as long as her line continues, untouched by the gods, that she will watch all of her children grow."

"So you're Agnes, but you're also Clara?" Jake asked.

"The spirit of Agnes passes through the Matriarch of the Westfield as its hosts their lives," the Matriarch explained. "She is the accumulation of our memories, and she shares those memories with me. Therefore, I am Agnes."

"You said, as long as the family line is untouched by the gods?" Jake indicated. He was referring to his mother, who was a daughter of Neptune, a god. "Is that why you haven't passed hosts yet?"

"Yes, your grandmother broke my oath when she laid with the sea god," Agnes confirmed. Surprisingly, she didn't sound bitter about it at all. Jake would have understood if she would have been just a little upset, considering it was her immortality and everything. "But I cannot blame her. The spirit of Agnes would have eventually reached its end anyway."

"But what does that mean for you?" Jake asked Agnes, just a little concerned about this centuries-old family spirit.

"When I die, there will be nowhere left for Agnes to go," she explained. She sighed and took a moment to herself. "I have seen many things in all my years. But never before have I seen so much destiny in one person than you. I fear that the path you walk will be a difficult one. Many trials, many, many losses. But in the end, you will have to make a choice. I know you will make the right decision when the time comes."

Jake's face went a little pale when he heard his future being read to him by a two-hundred year old spirit inhabiting his great-grandmother, who might as well have been that old.

"Now, my time is running short, so ask what you must ask," she said, breaking the silence. Jake smirked a little. He kind of liked her dry humor, considering how old she was. "I swear, I've seen the economy move faster than you."

"I need to find a secret society," Jake explained. He was mentally retrieving all the information he had acquired in his search. "There was an inscription on the side a fountain bowl in town. It said to _follow the bloodline_, _through back in time_, _of the ancestors of Rome_, _find our new home. I looked through the Hall of Records, through the Westfield family history up to Silas Westfield. Now I'm here talking to you._"

"When did they make you stop reading the Aeneid?" Agnes asked rhetorically. "When Aeneas fled from Troy, he eventually found himself on Roman soil. He had to fight a contender by the name of Turnus, of whom he later slain in combat. So he built what was to be Rome. What you're looking for are the founding families. You know one of them, us. The Westfields. Find the others."

"Where do I start?" Jake asked, seeking clues from the age-old woman. "Which ones are the founding families?"

"Find the descendants of Aeneas," she prompted. "Not just our family, but the _other_ families as well. Find them, and you will find what you are looking for. Now, go."

_The next day…_

Jake and Cindy were reviewing notes inside the lair of the Order of Romulus together. He was still suspicious of her, but found himself having to be dependent on her. As much as he hated that, he knew he was going to have to embrace it if he were going to find this secret society. From their collaboration, Jake was able to determine that the society was consisting of the descended families of Aeneas. He considered Agnes' part of the Westfield family part of that society, though not as active as other potential families. Jake had followed the bloodline back through time and found Agnes, discovering that she was one of the ancestors of New Rome, and that her ancestors were one of the ancestors of Rome, the old one.

But that was only half of the puzzle. These old descendants of Aeneas sought out a new home. New Rome was their new home. But why? What was wrong with living in old Rome?

"These modern descendants of Aeneas didn't come from Italy, at least not Agnes' generation," Jake deducted. Cindy looked at him, like she was hoping he would come to the right conclusion. "They had to come from a place that they were forced out of. But where would a place for legacies exist, if not New Rome?"

Jake was stumped. His mind was wandering now, as were his eyes across the room. He looked up at the ceiling, and then at a map of North America hanging on a wall. He stared at it for some time, noting its shape, all the big cities. His eyes started on New Rome, which sat in the West, then trailed across the map until he reached the other demigod camp, Camp Half-blood in Long Island, New York. Jake stared at it for some time, until… _epiphany_.

"They came from Camp Half-blood," Jake hypothesized. He was trying to think of a scenario that would make sense, at least in regards to the once united world of demigods. "They had to have been a Union at one point or another. A Union, like during the American Civil War. Yes, that's how it happened. And then, and then… they seceded or lost, and moved to California and founded New Rome."

"Is that what you think?" Cindy asked him after he completed his theory.

"I don't see you adding anything in," Jake commented. "In fact, I don't see you helping out at all!"

Cindy wasn't reacting, at least not verbally. Of course, she knew what he was looking for, but she wasn't going to tell him. But Jake was getting really, really tired of this game. He only had so much patience before he just got really mad.

Jake rethought his theory. He tried to think some catalysts that would force the Greeks and Romans to tear apart from one another. From what Jake knew, Camp Half-blood did not operate under a unified Legion. They were a collection of separate, and sometimes unequal, cabins dedicated to particular god. The Romans did not organize themselves by parentage, but rather referrals and socials connections. Aside from that, they also interpreted the gods differently, some of them not even existing in one pantheon while being in another.

So the camps eventually split from not seeing eye to eye on those issues. The Romans moved west, where the founding families founded Camp Jupiter. A war to keep them united must have broken out shortly after they seceded. From what the previous generation had learned, the gods were so horrified by the losses on both sides, they crafted the Mist to be so powerful, that even the demigods would forget about each other.

Jake was starting to see the picture unravel itself. These descendants of Aeneas at one point must have been at Camp Half-blood, as Roman legacies. They left when the Romans seceded, _finding their new home_. Yes, it was becoming clearer. They were other non-Aeneid legacies that contributed to the founding of New Rome, but Jake's ancestors were Trojans.

"They wanted to find a new Troy," Jake finally spoke. Cindy's face lit up. "They lost it in the Trojan War, when the Greeks destroyed it. And they couldn't stay at Camp Half-blood too long with all the Greeks there. No, that was definitely Greek territory. They wanted to make a new home, like Aeneas did with Rome. So they went west, and founding New Rome, their _new home_."

Jake noticed how that rhymed.

Cindy was nodding, excited by his discovery. He knew she wanted to tell him he was correct, but that she couldn't. The thought counted, he guessed. Still, he was surprised he was able to figure out the puzzle. The information was there right in front of him, in front of everyone the whole time. All they had to do was pay attention, just a little. With most demigods and demigod legacies suffering from some form or another of ADHD, it might have been too hard.

But now that Jake knew what this secret society was, he had to proceed accordingly. But first, he had to figure out where the other cells were on tracking down the society.

"We have to talk to Howard," Jake commented. Cindy looked a little distressed. "We have to know where everyone else in their investigations. Who knows, we might find something we missed. Either way, it wouldn't do us good to be caught in the middle."

"You have to promise me you won't tell him," Cindy pleaded. She was looking deep into his eyes. Jake could see the worry in her light brown eyes. He almost felt sorry for her. Everything for her depended on his next course of action. He could end up saving her… or ruining her. Agnes' words about him making a decision was starting to ech in his mind. "Promise me, please."

Jake exhaled.

"We go and do this your way, and you have to tell me," Jake responded after a moment. "Not just some open-ended statements. You have to tell me _everything_."

Cindy was put back on the hot seat. She looked like she was weighing her options very carefully.

"I… will show you _everything_," Cindy pledged. Jake got up and was already heading for their next stop.

"Come on, the sooner we get this done, the better," Jake said.

They went over to the Principia. He knew to head over there because of the hours when he was home. Since a year ago, Howard had offered to stay with Jake at his place, along with Javier and Ashley Beas. If it weren't for them three, the place would have been empty with the absence of his mother, father, and sister. If he wasn't at work in the Legion, New Rome, or the Order, then the praetor was using whatever hours left to himself. Howard's dedication was something that inspired Jake.

When they got there, they found Howard at his desk. Jake saw that he was looking at something in his hand, like a picture or something. By the gods of Olympus, he had found the great praetor in a moment of weakness. Jake would have to remember that for later.

"Jake, Cindy," Howard said after looking up at the two of them. He quickly put away his token of affection and prepared himself for the two. "I thought you two were supposed to be out in the field."

"We were," Jake responded. Jake knew that Howard was very good at reading people. He was almost like a human lie detector, but he was close enough with him to hopefully not be put on the radar. "We needed to cross-reference anything else the other cells might have pulled up."

"Dead ends?" Howard asked, pulling out some black folders. He opened them up and pulled out some freshly written papers. "You two were interviewing some of the senior citizens?"

"Yeah, most of them couldn't keep up with the questions," Jake jested. Howard made a smirking nod, acknowledging the joke. "Maybe there was some kind of info we could use as leverage."

"Sure, anything in particular?" the praetor asked, already separating some of the information.

"Potential meeting places, some mutual friends," Jake stated. He felt Howard's vision on him like a pair of hot laser rays. For a moment, Jake was on the hot seat. He could see why Howard didn't have many rivals, and the ones that he did, didn't prefer to confront him head on.

Howard handed him some of the papers. Jake quickly took them and took a step back.

"Thanks," Jake said. Cindy echoed him.

They were just about to leave when they were suddenly stopped by Howard's words.

"Be sure to put that to good use," Howard said, almost as if it were a warning. Jake fought himself to not gulp.

When the two finally left the Prinicipia, they both let out a big sigh of relief. For a moment, they were both smiling and laughing a little. But then Jake caught himself and set himself back into his rough demeanor. Cindy looked a little disappointed.

Jake looked through some of the places. Most of them, as he had seen before, were places he had passed by a hundred of times and never paid much attention to them. He browsed over them until he saw one place in particular that caught his attention. It was on the other side of town, but Jake knew that other members of his cell would have probably looked over it.

"Where are we going?" Cindy asked Jake. He was folding up the papers and putting them in his pocket. He wasn't exactly sure how they were going to do it, but they were needed to. "Jake?"

"Temple Hill," Jake finally spoke. "Right in plain sight. We're going to Temple Hill."

Jake tried to wrap his mind around the situation, the setting, and how it could have been used to the advantage of the secret society. It was out in the open, anyone, literally anyone could see them congregate. For a secret society, that wasn't really secret at all.

There wasn't any way he could perceive how it could possibly help them until he got there. He saw a large crowd of people in dark robes. Their faces were covered by hoods. They all seemed gathered around a shrine dedicated to Venus. Some of them had incense to burn, others were chanted ancient Latin phrases. It completely made sense at this point.

Jake and Cindy kept a cautious distance while the group went about their rituals. Most of them didn't pay the any attention as they chanted and made their worshipping gestures.

The gods had many cults within the society of Rome. It was an accepted part of Roman life. This group, this secret society, the ones who descended from Aeneas, operated within these cults. It was possible that they even disguised entire groups of members as religious cults.

"The only thing is… we don't know which one is our descendant of Aeneas," Jake commented. He noticed one of the attendants was acting a bit strangely. They were looking around over their shoulder, more suspicious of their environment than the others. "And I think I just found one."

Jake was beginning to move in on who he thought was a member of the secret society, until the person started moving away from the crowd. It wasn't long before it turned into a full on pursuit when the suspect started fleeing from the scene. Jake chased after the runner, who was heading into the city.

They were coming closer and closer to the city line, bringing a smile on Jake's face. That was until the runner ditched whatever weapons he was concealing right before passing over the Pomerian Line. Jake did the same, tossing his gladius before Terminus could give him a pat down.

The chase was going to take on turns Jake wouldn't even see coming.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general setting some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**VIII**

**NATHAN**

**Nathan could only take so much partying before he had to call it a night.** In the morning, he would greet Camp Half-blood as he did when he first arrived there. Campers were busy with activities and Nathan was yet with any clear method to his primary objective – build and maintain Greco-Roman relationships. He thought about it as he went to the breakfast meeting.

As the camp had its customs, the campers were divided to eating with their siblings, or at least their house members. That meant it just Layla and Nathan at the Hades table. He was a little happy for this, because at least without all the people there distracting him, he could get some thinking done.

"What are some of the things that people look up to around here?" Nathan asked his cousin during breakfast. He noted Chiron was sitting at the head table with a curly, red haired girl. Well, girl was used conservatively. She was definitely much older than him, but she had a very youth appearance to her. He also noticed the same for Blake at the Zeus table. The Poseidon table had only Joanna Peake.

"Sometimes, people go on quests and become heroes," Layla responded, after eating some of her food. She kept on exchanging glances with Wyatt, who sat over at the Dionysus table. He also noticed another girl, about Nathan's age, who was kind of pretty. But before he could get too interested, he refocused himself.

"So I would need a quest then," Nathan resolved. He also began to take note of one particular boy who sat at the Ares table, Derek, who he had faced the previous night. His glare held much resent, so Nathan tried to avoid meeting its gaze. "How dangerous are these quests usually?"

"Depends," Layla said cryptically. Nathan wasn't feeling so sure about taking on a quest. But if he was going to get anywhere with his mission, he had to. "Sometimes they're nothing really, like retrieve some old item for a god. Other times, the whole world depends on their success, like with our parents' generation. Percy Jackson is a pretty good example."

"And how does one go about receiving a quest," he pursued in his line of questions. Thankfully he was asking Layla and someone who would have not liked him enough to give him the correct information. He noticed at least Wyatt was beginning to tolerate him. Derek and Blake on the other hand, would take some more time and convincing. Maybe a quest would do just that.

Still, in just one day, he managed to get one person to not hate him (other than Chiron and Layla). And he had won a Capture the Flag game. Maybe he could start hanging out with Wyatt to build some trust and relationship with him. Of course, that meant he had to hang out with Blake, seeing as the two were best friends.

"Hey, where's Cameron Smith?" Nathan asked. He knew of Cameron Smith's kindness. He was much more Type B than his cousin, Blake. Nathan deducted that Cam would make a good friend. However, he had not seem him at Camp Half-blood since he had arrived.

"Oh, Cam?" Layla spoke. "He's not here. He's out. To go see family, I think."

Nathan was surprised anyone still had family at this point. His brothers were to blame for that. Still, if Cam had family, then maybe there was some hope for a better future. Nathan only resented his absence a little, however.

The campers kept on eating their breakfast until something strange started happening. Some kind of strange noises were coming from Half-blood Hill, where Nathan first entered camp. Curious, everyone (including Nathan) ran over to see what the commotion was about.

Trying to see his way past the large crowds gathered around Thalia's Pine (as it had been called), Nathan tried to find out what was going on. That's when the strange noises started happening again. Chiron came galloping in, clearing some space in between the campers.

"Children, return to your activities, please," Chiron gestured as he slowly pushed his way through the campers. Nathan noticed an older man with blond hair and dark shades standing nearby. When he thought he was detecting by him, the legionnaire shifted his gaze away from him. "Blake, Wyatt, Joanna, Derek, and Ellen. Have everyone return to their activities immediately."

"Got it, Chiron," Wyatt confirmed before pushing large crowds of people. "Okay people, let's go! Back to your activities!"

The other campers were soon prodded and lead away from Thalia's Pine. For some reason, Chiron did not have Nathan sent away like the others. The same was to be said of the red haired girl, who he had seen sitting with Chiron previously.

They were looking at the dragon that was coiled around Thalia's Pine. It seemed not natural, ill almost. Chiron was kneeling beside it and checking on it. Nathan noticed the blond haired man with the glasses was still there, also coming in for a closer look.

"Discoloration, fever, fatigue," the man in the shades pointed out. Nathan looked at the dragon and noticed that these symptoms he had been naming were true of the dragon. Sweat bled down the sides of the discolored dragon's body. It may have always been in a restful state, but now it was fatigued, not even regarded them as they stood over it. "Chiron, I think Peleus is sick. But monsters don't get sick. What is this?"

"I am… unfamiliar with this kind of illness," Chiron spoke as he opened Peleus' eyelid. He then shifted his attention to the adjacent tree, running his hand over its bark surface. His face said that he didn't find anything that could help him.

"What kind of correlation does the tree have with the dragon?" Nathan asked, seeing if he could help.

"What's with the Roman?" the man in shades asked.

"How do you know I'm Roman?" the legionnaire asked.

"For one, you're not wearing the status quo orange," he pointed. "And two, you didn't listen to Chiron when he told the campers to skedaddle. I knew you were either new, or Roman. And with the rumors flying around about the Roman ambassador winning the game last night, I only had one conclusion."

"That's very perceptive," Nathan said admiringly.

"The tree, coupled with the Golden Fleece, is the power source for the magical barrier around Camp Half-blood," the red haired woman explained. "And recently, the Valley of Heroes. I'm Rachael Elizabeth Dare, by the way. Most people just call me Rachel, though."

She shook his hand.

"Nathan Coll, Legionnaire of the Fourth Cohort," he greeted. "Ambassador from Camp Jupiter."

"_Coll_," the man with the shades spoke begrudgingly. "I know that name. Gary Hound, son of Apollo."

Unlike Rachel, Gary did not extend his hand to shake. Nathan felt awkward. He knew of Gary Hound being a folk hero among the Greeks, completing countless number of quests during the years after the Second Gigantomachy. Nathan was finding it hard to believe he was standing next to a tall story of a demigod.

"We must bring this information to a cabin counselor meeting immediately," Chiron prompted, leading them all back down Half-blood Hill. A couple of campers were sent to Thalia's Pine to watch over Peleus and guard the tree.

Chiron blew a horn that he had strapped around his side. In minutes, just over a dozen of campers came and responded to the call. Among them were Wyatt, Blake, Joanna, Derek, Layla, and others. Nathan noticed the median age for the cabin counselors were between the ages of 16 and 18. That meant that counselors like Derek were very young to be in their position.

Nathan was permitted to stay in the meeting, as were Rachel. He quickly deducted that Gary was the cabin counselor for the House of Apollo, who took a seat at his respective spot among the other cabin counselors. As before, Rachel sat next to Chiron. This time, however, Nathan was allowed to sit on Chiron's other side. From where he was sitting, all the other cabin counselors were facing toward him over the ping-pong table.

"Roll call," Chiron initiated, pulling out a clipboard and crossing off names as they were listed.

"Blake Courtenay," he spoke. "House of Zeus."

"House of Hera: empty," Chiron commented.

"Joanna Peake," she called out. "House of Poseidon."

House of Demeter.

"Derek Osborne," the boy said. "House of Ares."

House of Athena.

"Gary Hound," the man in the shades spoke. "House of Apollo."

House of Artemis. This house was usually represented by the goddess' Huntresses. They, however, were not present at the time.

House of Hephaestus.

House of Aphrodite.

House of Hermes.

"Wyatt Ward," Layla's boyfriend spoke. "House of Dionysus."

"Layla Lobo," Nathan's Greek cousin spoke. Due to the numerical placement of Dionysus and Hades, the two legacies were seated next to each other. Fitting. "House of Hades."

House of Iris.

House of Hypnos.

House of Nemesis.

"Zachary de Luca," the boy spoke. "House of Nike."

House of Hebe.

House of Tyche.

"Joshua Masterson," another said. "House of Hecate."

They kept calling each off until there were no more left, except for Rachel and Nathan.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," she spoke before Nathan. "Oracle of Delphi."

_Oracle of Delphi?_ Nathan asked himself. He had heard of oracles, and how they could interpret the will of the gods, much like their own augur, Scott Ward, of the First Cohort.

"Um, Nathan Coll," he spoke up after Rachel. He noticed everyone was looking at him at this point. "Fourth Cohort."

"That's all of us then," Blake said, which was directed at Chiron. "What is going on?"

"Gary, Rachel, Nathan, and I had discovered that Peleus has somehow fallen ill," Chiron stated. A murmur went through some of the campers. Nathan would have been worried too, especially if it meant the only thing guarding the power source of Camp Half-blood's protection.

"We'll need to set up a militia, a standing army, something to keep us from losing this place _again_," Blake suddenly spoke out, a hint of panic in his voice. Some of the campers were a bit surprised by his outburst. Nathan saw a particular look in Blake's eye when he suggested that. The look was familiar to him. He knew he had seen it from somewhere.

As much as Nathan didn't like to think about it, it was the same look he had seen in his brothers' eyes shortly before they went off on their own path. What Blake was possibly thinking of accomplishing by maintaining a standing army was beyond him. If Camp Half-blood raised an army, then the Romans back home would surely respond, and not kindly.

"Might I speak for a moment?" Nathan quickly interjected. Some of the campers gave him weird looks, while others glared at him hatefully. But for the most part, everyone was paying attention to him.

"Please, continue, Nathan," Chiron gestured politely, allowing for him to speak.

"Peleus guards the Golden Fleece, which bolsters Thalia's Pine?" Nathan asked. He was starting to make a couple of connections using simple transitive theories. Some people confirmed his question. "And Thalia's Pine is the power source of the magical barriers for Camp Half-blood."

"Well, yeah," Wyatt said, like it was an obvious fact. Some of the campers snickered to each other. "Or, at least it was just Camp Half-blood. We recently expanded the magical barrier to cover the Valley of Heroes next door."

Nathan locked on Wyatt's words like a heat seeking missile. In his theorizing, he proposed that Peleus and the tree shared a bond. Normally, Peleus was at ease with Thalia's Pine having the magical barrier cover just Camp Half-blood. But, once the magical barrier was forcefully expanded, the expenditure of energy proportionally increased as well. Therefore, Peleus had become sick from the expansion of the magical barrier!

"Eureka!" Nathan exclaimed. "The magical barrier's expansion is making Peleus sick!"

"That… actually might make sense," Chiron spoke to himself, scratching his beard a couple of times in deep thought. Murmurs went through the crowd.

"If that's the case, then we either pull back the barrier to its original state," Gary Hound suggested, his gaze fixed on Nathan. "Or we get some medicine."

"Uncle Gary, do you know how to treat Peleus?" Blake asked the veteran demigod.

"Not the slightest clue," he spoke, causing some to sigh in disappointment. "Even with Apollo's healing talents, I can't think of any kind of treatment that _wouldn't_ kill him. I've been trained as a monster killer, not a monster healer. My healing works better with people."

"I suppose I should take responsibility for that, Gary," Chiron said jokingly. For all the lessons he didn't have on monster healing, Nathan understood that Chiron was quite the teacher. Everyone here was taught by him at one point or another. Nathan thought maybe he too would be taught by him. "I, however, do know of something that might help Peleus recover."

Everyone leaned in to hear what Chiron had to say. Even Nathan, who was sitting right next to him, felt like he didn't want to miss what was to be said by him.

"What is it, Chiron?" Joshua Masterson asked.

"Well, I believe there is an old recipe to remedy our sick friend," he recalled. "It was about two thousand years ago, more or less, but I do believe there are three main ingredients to be sought after. The others can be obtained quite easily."

"Just three?" Wyatt jested. "That can't be too hard, right?"

"Well, the three ingredients are a grounded petal of a Lotus flower," Chiron began listing. Lotus flower. Nathan wasn't exactly sure if he just had to go to the home goods store and buy a pot, or if he was talking about _the_ Lotus flower. If so, then this grocery list had already become very difficult, and that was just the first. "Next, you'll need the juice of an apple from the Garden of the Hesperides."

Some of the campers were moaning in defeat at this point.

"And last, but not least," Chrion went on. "A conquered fear."

The room was silent for a couple of moments. People looked at each other. A conquered fear? Nathan had many fears to conquer, many of them involving certain people in his life, like his father. How does one conquer their fear of something? It wasn't tangible, so practical methods didn't apply. It couldn't be convinced, so even the most persuasive of tongues could do nothing.

"This sounds like a quest," Blake said, shooting up to his feet. "If so, I volunteer to do it."

"Blake, you know how quests work," Chiron chided. Wyatt jokingly slapped the back of his head.

"Sorry, had to get some of the hot air trapped up in that inflating head of yours," he teased. The room exploded with laughter. Blake looked pretty embarrassed, almost like he didn't know how to deal with it. Nathan surmised that he wasn't caught in that position very often.

Just then, the laughter suddenly died, as all eyes were on Rachel, who was as stiff as a door nail. She wasn't moving, and as soon as Nathan was about to reach over to touch her to see if she would respond, Chiron gestured for him not to.

A sense of fear began to grow in the room as green smoke somehow entered and began swirling about. Nathan pulled up his shirt, in the event that he was about to poisoned and killed. But he still sat there, alive and well. While the green smoke was not lethal, it did present a sense of dread and wonder at the same time.

Chiron backed away as Rachel began walking up to Nathan. He tried backing up, because she looked like she was going to eat him or something.

"What's going on?" Nathan asked, panicking.

That was when he saw her eyes, a sickly glowing green color that shined like enriched uranium. She was looking right at him and he wanted her not to. He was afraid of her like this.

Rachel began reciting words in an ancient voice:

_Darkness and light_

_And a heart so right_

_Shall seek the cure_

_Before Peleus' overture_

After a moment of awkward staring, Rachel fell where she stood. If it were not for Chiron, she would have hurt herself hitting the ground. In seconds, she seemed groggy and unaware of what she had just done.

"Ohhh," she said roughly. "Did I do it again?"

"Yes, you did, Ms. Dare," Chiron confirmed her question, helping her back into her seat. Everyone else was still silent, including Nathan.

"Did she just… " somebody said.

"But he's a Roman!" another person barked, gesturing angrily toward Nathan.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Layla said. "Rachel, um, _the Oracle_, gave him the prophecy. It's his quest!"

"Indeed," Chiron commented. "This is not the first time a Roman had been given a quest here. In fact, I recall Jason Grace, a son of your Jupiter, was the last Roman to receive a quest here."

Nathan was speechless. He had never received a quest back home at Camp Jupiter, yet on his second day at Camp Half-blood, bam. He was suddenly legitimate enough to receive a prophecy for a quest, regardless of his past. Nathan made it a point to take the time to thank the spirit of Delphi when he got the chance.

"So, I got the quest?" Nathan asked. Some people nodded. Others just glared at him, particularly Blake. Wyatt was laughing his butt off because of that. "When do I start? Where do I go? What do I bring with me? Do I need to prepare in any way? Tell me!"

"Please, Nathan, calm yourself," Chiron urged the legionnaire. "First, you need to figure out who you are going to take on the quest with you."

"Okay, I'll take Layla and… Wyatt?" Nathan attempted. It was shot down, fast. And people laughed at him. A lot.

"_Darkness and light_," Gary Hound recited. He glanced at Blake, then at Layla, then back to Nathan. "If you're the darkness, then you're going to need the light. And _a heart so right_."

"Alright, I'm in!" Blake cheered, jumping up to his feet. Whatever bad mood he had before was suddenly replaced by his potential for being a quester.

"Mr. Hound?" Nathan called him out. "I think that means you."

"Son of basilisk!" Blake outburst. "The last time I went out on a quest was… six weeks ago!"

Wyatt kick Blake's seat against the back of his legs, causing him to land right into it.

"Sit down, bro," Wyatt jested. "Just think of all the other people who don't get to go questing."

Nathan couldn't believe it. He had just received a quest, _and_ he was going to complete with none other than Gary Hound. Becoming ambassador was probably the best decision he had ever made in his life. There was just too many benefits and perks to this job. He was surprised the opportunity hadn't come sooner. He would've accepted it immediately if he would have known all of this would be happening.

"Fine," Gary said. "I'll go with you, but we need to find our third quest mate."

"_A heart so right_," Nathan recited. "Who do you think that is?"

"I think I know of a person or two," Gary said.

Nathan eagerly awaited departure for his new quest.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**IX**

**JAKE**

**Jake didn't even look back to see if Cindy was catching up.** He kept on the suspect's tail, chasing him through the streets of New Rome. The runner pushed his way through crowds of people in the tight alleyways and corners of the streets, hoping to slow Jake down. As long as he could keep the suspect within sight, the Senatorial Guard would detect the chase and move to help Jake out. Unfortunately, the runner had the same idea in mind.

Soon, the chase elevated and moved up to the rooftops. There had been some scaffolding, as well as the moment's convenience of accessing it, available to both of them. The runner was trying to keep the chase down to just them two. And if this person were aligned with the secret society, then they probably more people like this guy running. That didn't bode well for Jake or the Order of Romulus.

The runner leapt across a wide gap over a street below. Jake stopped just at the edge, watching as the runner made it to the other side. The suspect looked back at Jake, checking to see if he would attempt the jump. The Legionnaire would give him the satisfaction, taking his place back a couple of steps. He ran forward, picking up speed with each step. In his forward momentum, Jake leapt upward, his inertia sending up and forward. He landed across the other side, causing the runner to keep fleeing.

Jake was breathless after the jump. He knew he would have died, or at least be permanently disfigured if he wasn't able to make it. But that was just going to be more fuel for the fire. And the fires were burning quick as he stayed hot on the trail once again.

The chase was going on to the point that Jake was getting annoyed. In the pursuit, he kept an open eye for anything he could use to throw at the runner, in hopes of either slowing him down or incapacitating him. He took into account where he was. They were in a remodeled part of the city, one that had received the most damage during the Golden Age Revolutionary War last year. This part of the city looked even more like Rome, with the buildings either completely brand new, or in the process of their construction. This area had more hazards than others, as some of the buildings were not yet complete. He tried to keep his senses aware of whatever was going to come up ahead, because it might kill him if it didn't.

They ran through an incomplete building, with construction workers still in there. Jake and the suspect were running too fast and moving too quickly through for them to react. And they were moving too fast to shift their attention to the workers, disregarding them almost completely. Jake then saw a hammer, grabbed it, and chucked it at the runner, smacking right into the center of his back.

The suspect flew off of his feet, falling into an excavated area nearby. Jake heard a thud a split second after he saw the runner fall over. Satisfied with the result, Jake slid down into the dug out area, where the suspect was just getting up to his feet. A couple of construction workers were making an effort to get out of the ditch as fast as possible, knowing what was about to go down.

Without a weapon, Jake was going to have to take on this guy with his bare fists. As a Roman Legionnaire, he was trained in a Roman form of pankration. It was a combination of wrestling and boxing that was supposed to temporarily substitute for a weapon. In normal circumstances, Jake would have been temporarily disarmed, falling back on his training in the martial art until he was either able to fall back or retrieve his weapon. Roman gladiators often specialized in their own form of pankration.

But before Jake could even get a swing, the guy did something really strange.

Suddenly, Jake was blinded. All he could see was white light. He struggled to feel his way around as he stumbled where he stood. The blinding light was put him into a panic mode. His muscles were tightening up, refusing to release tension. Blinded and paralyzed. Jake couldn't feel any control at all.

But this state of being was not permanent. After what felt like minutes, the effects were starting to wear off. His body was begin to cool down, and his sight was coming back to him. He was panting furiously.

_What in Pluto's kingdom was that?_ Jake thought to himself, as he couldn't quite yet function his mouth. With the words he wanted to say, it was probably for the best.

Of course, the suspect was gone. Jake asked the construction workers where he might have went, but the trail based on the information they gave him soon died out.

Jake waited over at the entrance of the building, hoping Cindy was able to figure out where he was. He was so upset with himself, letting himself get suckered like that. He swore that if he ever got his hands on the guy who did that to him, he was going to make him pay. The rage only made him want to get moving and resume the investigation even more.

Cindy came over, a worried look on her face.

"What happened?" she asked.

"He's gone," Jake admitted sourly.

"How?" she inquired.

"He pulled some kind of trick," Jake reluctantly recalled. He was still very bitter from what just happened. "Some kind of light trick. I couldn't see anything or move. It was… ergh."

Cindy stepped forward to put her hand on his arm, but stopped when he glared at her mid-motion. She retracted it, not wanting to push it. Jake was upset. Not just the suspect, but with her. With everything. Everything that could have gone wrong did. Whenever they managed to get anywhere, something had to happen to slow them down.

"I'm so sick of this investigation!" he said in rage. He ran over and kicked a can a couple of feet off into the distance. His hands had already balled into fists. Jake had a temper, but ever since last year, it had grown worse and worse every time.

Jake thought it started when he was in the detachment that was sent to help out the Camp Half-blood refugees. When they found the Greeks, a small, but bloody fight broke out, killing Andrew Wood, a legionnaire of the First Cohort, in the process. At the same time, Devin and Dwayne Coll, both Centurions of the Fourth Cohort at the time, betrayed the Legion, killing most of the Roman Second Gigantomachy veterans, if not all of them.

That was when the real trouble started. The Golden Age Revolution had a couple of champions, but one stood out in particular over the others. His name was Harkin, and according to the people who had defeated him aboard the Princess Andromeda II, he was a Greek son of Atlas. He wasn't just some average demigod in the Hermes Cabin at Camp Half-blood. No, he was a demi-_titan_.

It was Harkin that came charging out onto the field of battle when Jake was with the detachment. Never before had he seen someone capable of so much carnage. Harkin's size and demeanor playing a key role in his psychological factors. His size was intimidating to even Jake, almost seven feet in height. His body looked like it had been born in a blender, and came crawling out, all patched up and everything. In the fight, he came toward Scott Ward, Centurion of the First Cohort, and the augur of Camp Jupiter and New Rome. But soon his attention was diverted to his sister, Cindy Ward. Jake didn't know what it was that compelled him to attack Harkin to save Cindy. It was like there was another presence within him, a part of him that he never knew was there before until it revealed itself.

Whatever it was, it worked. Nobody had been able to inflict some damage back at Harkin until Jake did. A couple of shield bashes and he was backed up. It wasn't Jake's strength. He felt it was coming from something else inside of him.

Ever since then, he had instances where his temper would flare up. It happened more often when his family was brought up during a conversation. In combat, it would also happen, but he was able to effectively channel into his martial abilities, making him a more effective combatant.

But Jake tried not to think what happened the previous year. Especially since the same story involved his sister foolishly sacrificing herself.

"What are you going to do now?" Cindy asked him, breaking him from his thoughts. He hadn't realized how long he was going for.

"I'm going home," Jake said reluctantly. He didn't think there were any more leads available to him that day, so he was going to resign, at least for that day. Plus, he felt a little defeated, with the little progress he had been able to make.

When he got home, it was dusk. Javier and Ashley were home. He had allowed them to stay ever since their parents were both killed by Evan Pravus, former Centurion of the Fifth Cohort. His cousins were very unique, in that they were not only demigod legacies of both Greek and Roman descent, but they came from two Big Three gods (Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto), that being Pluto and Poseidon.

Javier was helping Ashley with a puzzle. Gods, the scars around her eyes were still there. During the confrontation with Pravus, Javier unleashed a huge amount of untapped power on him. However, because there was so much energy in it, and Javier had never done something like that before, it was unstable, resulting in the injuries that blinded Ashley.

But things always found a creep through. Ashley may have been physically blind, but her connection to the world of shadows (from Pluto) gave her some sense of cognition. Jake couldn't really explain it, but she was aware of her surroundings, sometimes even more than Jake or Javier.

"Jake?" Ashley called out from where she sat. After a moment of trying to determine if he was there or not, she smiled. "Jake!"

"Hey, dude," Javier greeted his cousin. Beyond family, the two were really good friends. Something he needed since Jake's nuclear family was completely gone. "You look like you've been rolling around in the dirt!"

Jake looked at his purple t-shirt. It was covered in dirt from the ditch he was in earlier.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that," he muttered. "Howard's not home yet?"

"No," Javier responded. "We were the first ones back."

"Oh, okay," Jake spoke to himself. He had been planning on speaking the praetor about the investigation when he got the chance.

Jake had the rest of the night to himself. His body ached from his previous encounter, so he took the time to relax and unwind. He spent some time playing cards with Javier, and then other games with Ashley. A couples into that, and Howard had come home. He had left his praetor armor and robe at the Principia, leaving him in just his purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt. Underneath the very composed figure that Howard Amos was a guy like everyone else in this city. Jake liked the idea that he was able to be himself every now and then.

Later into the night, after Ashley and Javier had gone to bed, Jake spoke to Howard regarding the investigation.

"I need to be taken off the case," Jake told Howard. There was an expression of disbelief on the praetor's face. "Its just for a few days."

"Why, did something happen?" he asked. Howard wasn't using his skills in reading people when he asked that. Jake had been given the rare privilege to not be examined like that, most of the time.

"I had an encounter with one of them," Jake said. "I'm not sure if all of them are dangerous, but this particular one that I faced had some neat tricks."

"You fought one of them?" Howard asked, shocked. "Jake, you're the only who's been making any kind of progress. Everyone else in the Order has reached a stump, except you and Cindy. No, I can't take you off the case. You're already in so much farther than anyone else is. I have to keep you on it. I'm sorry."

Jake knew he couldn't argue with the praetor, as well as his Order Alpha (the chief administrative role) of the Order of Romulus. But Howard was not without mercy. He had given Jake the next day off. Which he was going to use.

_The next day…_

Jake wasn't expected his day off from the investigation to be spent for a War Game. As part of his training regimen, soldiers had to be constantly tested in the ways of war. In this case, they had to train to operate as a unit. Roman armies, unlike most of the Greek ones, were not made of individuals, but rather a large mass of men acting as a single body. The testudo formation was an example of this. Jake's _scutum_ was just one of many in that particular formation. War Ball helped condition him and his team to act like one.

Unfortunately, to play a War Game, the Legion had to spend the whole day setting up defenses for the defending team. In most cases, a well-trained Legion could set up a defensive line in a couple of hours. These defenses, however, were often set up in a custom design, one that could favor the defending over the attacking one. So most of the day was spent setting up. The War Game itself would not actually begin until later in the day, usually before dusk.

Fortunately for Jake, who was part of the Third Cohort, which was part of the Team Tornitruum (Third, Fourth, and Fifth Cohorts), he did not have to set up the defense, as he was to be part of the offense. Instead, Jake was at a makeshift camp some distance from the opposite team's defense site.

He sat with Javier and talked to pass the time. They were seated near the Centurions, who were busy discussing the strategy for the team's attack. To effectively play a War Game, coordination and tactics were needed. The Centurions in charge for Team Tornitruum for this War Game included: Jade and Adrian Cramer, Nero Alvarez, and Joanna Peake, who had just arrived from Camp Half-blood earlier today. As a Greco-Roman demigod legacy, she spent a lot of time back and forth between the two demigod camps. Jake, being just Roman, did not have the same burden. Javier, on the other hand, was a special case. Since he was staying at Jake's house, he and his sister spent most of their time of the year at Camp Jupiter. Joanna spent a little more time at Camp Half-blood.

Jake remembered going to Camp Half-blood a year ago. It was during the Annual Demigod Olympics. He had passed the Camp Jupiter Qualifiers for the first time at just 12 years old. His sister had done the same thing in her time. But he had performed much better his first time through then she did. Jake was eager to attempt it again. He felt over the course of the year, he had improved, if only slightly.

"You think we're going to win tonight?" Javier asked Jake, breaking him from his thoughts. He hadn't realized how far deep he was in his own thoughts. He took a while before responding. "Jake? You still there, dude?"

"Huh?" he spoke, coming back to his senses. Javier was asking him a question. Jake looked around. He wasn't even aware that they were about to get into formation for the start of the game. "Oh, sorry. Just thinking. Yeah, I think we can win tonight. We just have to watch out for the artillery."

"The water cannons?" Javier indicated. "Can't _we_, and probably Joanna take those out?"

Jake thought about that. As descendants of the sea god Neptune, they had the ability known as hydrokinesis, which gave them manipulative properties over the element of water, salted and fresh. Although, they worked best with salt water, as Neptune is the god of the sea, not necessarily the rivers. Regardless, should Team Fulminis (First and Second Cohorts), fire on them with water cannons, their abilities should be abilities disable them, or even possibly fire back on, them.

"We probably could- " Jake tried to say as he was cut off by the centurions who came rushing out onto the scene. They were shouting orders for the cohorts to get into formation. Jake and Javier looked at each other. "Here we go. Good luck, brother."

"See you on the other side, man," Javier said. They then proceeded to give each other their handshake. It was based on an older style of handshake, where the hand clasped around the forearm, a symbolic gesture of brotherhood, kinship, and the like. "Let's show these guys who the real shining examples are."

Jake nodded. They then both ran off to get into formation with their cohort. When Jake got into his spot, he put on his helmet. Adrian and Jade Cramer rushed in place.

The fun was just about to begin.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**X**

**NATHAN**

**Nathan was excited to be going on a quest in the Greek cultural style.** He was especially excited to be attempting such a great undertaking with an equally great character that was Gary Hound, son of Apollo. He had read much about his exploits, and the many quests he had undertaken. If anyone was an experienced quester, it was Gary Hound. And then there was Nathan, someone who had never completed a quest, much less a Greek one.

Gary Hound was one thing in rumor and secondary source, but Nathan had found the hero to be something else in his first hand encounters with the man. The son of Apollo was not very talkative like the reports of his sharp tongue would suggest. Nathan thought that perhaps the last year in particular had taken its toll on him. It seemed to have done so with every last demigod and demigod legacy that survived the bloody conflict known as the Golden Age Revolutionary War just last year.

Perhaps Nathan could put up with Gary's attitude towards him. He was willing to put his own comfort at check instead of the safety and security of Camp Half-blood. Plus, he didn't want the lack of security to have the Greeks form a standing army. From every pattern he noted in history, if the Greeks were to raise an army, it would most likely aggravate Camp Jupiter into conflict, despite the treaty.

Maybe Praetor Howard Amos wasn't hot-headed enough to be provoked like that. Nathan thought that perhaps whatever kind of grudge he held with them was balanced by his co-equal, Praetor Hannah Copperfield. Nathan evaluated the two and judged that they made a very balanced duo. Both were completely qualified for the job.

Amos was perhaps the most stern and strongest of leaders amongst the First and Second Cohorts. He came from a reputable heritage, his father, William Amos being of a similar stance. Still, Howard had made a name for himself, instead of riding on the coattails of his father's accomplishments and legacy.

The same could easily be said of Hannah. Her father, like Amos, was also praetor at one point (although William Amos' praetorship was vital to the survival of Camp Jupiter and New Rome following the absence of Michael Varus). She too had made a name for herself over her career as a young centurion. She was charismatic amongst her peers (a trait she had in common with her rival, the legendary Katrina Darrow), and was renowned for her decision making. Amos had an iron fist, was very organized and effective, but Hannah was from Team Tornitruum, one of the less glorious cohorts. She had a place among the regular people like Nathan.

That was their balance. They were able to execute their functions as praetors because of how they worked off each other. Nathan thought that there could possibly be no other praetor duo as great as them.

"Coll, when you're done daydreaming about whatever, we need to go find those ingredients," Gary chided, tossing him Nathan's bag at him. The legionnaire barely caught, already beginning to slip out of his hands. "We need to find our third quest mate if we want to actually have a shot at completing this thing."

"Someone with a _heart so right_, right?" Nathan asked, remembering from the Oracle's prophecy.

"Right," Gary confirmed. "And we have to find him _or her_."

"You said you had some ideas on who it might be?" Nathan inquired. In the meantime, Nathan was developing some of his own theories on who it might be. He considered the third quester would be a girl, as girls usually had hearts so right, or at least he thought they did. Nathan wasn't very skilled with the opposite sex. He had a crush on Hannah, but was too afraid to do anything with it. Plus, he knew that she was going out with Scott Ward, the augur of the Twelfth Legion and New Rome. On top of that, he was also Howard's best friend.

Nathan didn't feel comfortable at all around Howard, despite how great of a praetor he was. Shortly after the Golden Age Revolutionary War had come to close, Nathan became a prime suspect, mostly based on his relationship with his brothers, who died in the war. Howard unleashed what might as well have been the Spanish Inquisition on him.

Nathan tried to bury the memory of him being questioned. No, he was _interrogated_ by Howard. And in some cases, he was being put under psychological torture.

_He sat in the cold room for hours without any interaction with the rest of the world. Sometimes, the lights would shut off completely, making the room a giant dark box. In normal circumstances, Nathan would have felt comfortable in the darkness, the natural element of the descendants of Pluto. But these shadows were not familiar to him. There was much anger cast into them. It denied Nathan the refuge he sought. So he found no comfort. Only the cold. Only the darkness._

_After eight hours of complete isolation, Nathan finally had the lights come back on. He would have been relieved, if it were not for Howard standing in the room right in front of him. His dark, steely blue eyes peered into the deepest parts of Nathan._

_"What is your name?" the praetor began with a question. His name? Why would he not know his name if he was imprisoning him there? It didn't make sense. "I said, what is your name?"_

_"Nathan, sir," he uttered. "Nathan Coll."_

_"What is your position in the Twelfth Legion?" the next question was presented._

_"Legionnaire of the Fourth Cohort," Nathan spoke._

_"Do you know why you're here?" Howard asked. Finally, something that wasn't so trivial. Or was it? Nathan was beginning to lose the distinction._

_"No, I don't," he answered._

_"Heh, let me show you," Howard chuckled once, then stopped._

_In a single, fluid movement, Howard had shot his hand at Nathan's neck and had proceeded to choke him._

_"I am not your friend," Howard spoke to Nathan, who was struggling to breathe. The praetor's tone was calm and monotone, but firm in its purpose. "I am here to have my questions answered. If you do not answer my questions accordingly I will hurt you. I will not be nice to you. I will hurt you. Do you understand?"_

_Nathan's throat was squeezed by Howard's tightening grip, to the point where he couldn't speak, much less maintain full consciousness._

_Howard noted his attempt to speak, nonetheless, and let go, dropping him. Nathan inhaled graciously, his throat burning with pain. Gods of Olympus, what had he done to deserve a fate like this? He was just 12 years old then. The praetor, 18 at the time, had lost many people close to him, including the legendary Katrina Darrow. Nathan quickly noted that he wasn't in a good mood._

_"Tell me everything of your brothers, Devin and Dwayne," Howard ordered. Thus began the interrogation._

Nathan broke himself away from the memory. He didn't like delving into those events. Experiencing them firsthand was terrible enough, recalling them was worse. It was something he could never forget. It haunted him in his sleep most of the time. The guilt of the many acts his brothers had committed had grown on him overnight, and that feeling was there to stay.

Maybe he hadn't actually done anything himself, but there may have been some kind of apathetic or indirect contribution on his part as to why his brothers betrayed the Legion and fought for the Golden Age Revolution. His father, before taking up the bottle, was somehow dishonored during his career in the Fourth Cohort. Nathan was too young at the time to completely understand what it was, but it still clung on to him this day. Everything the House of Coll has done wrong has accumulated onto him, weighing him down.

"Hey, listen to me when I'm talking," Gary snapped. Nathan's mind was drifting off again. He tended to do that from time to time. His eyes glanced over to Gary, who was prepping for the quest.

For quests, Nathan had a predetermined image of the appropriate apparel. He imaged armor to shield the user from attacks, as well as their trusty weapon. What Gary was packing was totally different. He saw him packing an elegant suit, and a suit of Kevlar armor, or at least what appeared to be Kevlar. Then there was his weapon, a crossbow. It wasn't Nathan's preference, but he believed it good enough for Gary.

"_A heart so right_," Gary recited from the Oracle's prophecy. "I know a couple of people like that. _Cameron Smith, Ellen Maka. Brynn Wood._"

Nathan was surprised Gary knew of the Centurion of the First Cohort, opposite of Scott Ward. Then again, it must have come to him during his many journeys and quests. Still. Anyway, Cameron Smith seemed like a decent candidate, as did Brynn Wood. He wasn't so sure about the other girl, Ellen Maka.

"I thought Cameron wasn't here?" Nathan asked, recalling from previous information.

"He isn't," Gary confirmed. "But I know someone who might know where he is."

That's when his quest lead him to the House of Ares. Gary went in first, to which Nathan happily accepted. The exterior of the house was painted red, as in the blood-of-your-enemies-red. There was also barbed wire around the perimeter of the front yard, as well as a random assortment of stakes plated into the ground. He swore he saw land mines placed about.

The door to the House of Ares was unlocked. Gary peered in, then nodded for Nathan to follow him in. The legionnaire was a bit nervous entering this house because he knew of one of its inhabitants, Derek Osborne, legacy of Ares and Neptune. He had faced him just the night before, and if he knew anything about the descendants of the war gods, was that they remembered the faces of their enemies. Nathan could easily consider himself to be Derek's enemy, whether he wanted to be or not.

Fortunately for Nathan, there was no Derek at the time. Instead, there was a girl with dark hair and blue eyes. She was string up a bow that reached from head to foot. Nathan would have thought the girl to be cute, if it were not for the several knives she had strapped around her waist. She was like a knife fanatic. Aside from the more subtle hand weapons, she also carried a Celestial Bronze sword at her side. Nathan suspected that the knives were most likely used to as throwing weapons, since she carried so many and still had a couple of weapons to spare.

She caught notice of them and looked up at them. There was an expression of surprise on her face.

"Dad?" she called out. Nathan's mind went blank. He had heard and read about Gary's adventures, but not once did he ever find anything about Gary having a daughter. For a second, Nathan thought (although it was just in the heat of the moment) that _he_ was the father. Of course, that was impossible, given the girl's and his ages. On top of that, she was at least three or four years old than him. "What are you doing here?"

"… you're calling me Dad… " Gary muttered after pausing. He sounded embarrassed by it. With that, Nathan's approval of his former childhood hero dropped some substantial number of points. "We're on a quest. And we need your help to find someone."

"A quest?" the girl asked, her face lighting up. Nathan suspected that many people (Blake not included) did not get to go on quests very often. "What kind of quest? And who are you?"

She was asking Nathan, judging by the way she was looking at him when she asked the question.

"I'm Nathan Coll," he introduced himself. Her face showed some disgust when she heard his surname. He mentally told himself that he would have to stop doing that, in fear of having an excess of people who didn't like him at the start of an introduction. "I'm working here as an ambassador from Camp Jupiter. And you are?"

"Ambassador, eh?" she mused herself. "I'm Ellen Maka. I'm interested, but I want to know what I'm getting into here."

"Peleus is sick," Nathan explained. "And we need a third quester for the quest. But Gary thinks its Cameron Smith. And you supposedly know how to find him."

"Cam's visiting some family near San Francisco," Ellen stated. Nathan knew this already, but not exactly where the specific location was. Maybe she could contribute to the group. If that were the case, they might as well take her along. It would at least help their odds, or so he thought.

"Did he tell you where specifically?" Gary asked Ellen, his _daughter_. Nathan still couldn't believe that. His tone sounded pressing, but with the camp's security at stake, he could understand why. Before Ellen could even speak, Gary interjected. "Come on, we don't have time for this. Pack your things, we're going to Las Vegas."

_Las Vegas?_ Nathan asked himself. Why would they need to head there? If Gary was planning on using that tuxedo for there, Nathan could not perceive any purpose. Unless… something was there to be found or obtained. Certainly not Cameron Smith or Brynn Wood, but perhaps one of the quest items, like a Lotus flower.

"Las Vegas, San Francisco," Ellen listed. "Anywhere else we'll be going?"

"If we find anything new, then you'll find out," Gary vaguely promised.

Nathan noticed the strange relationship between Ellen Maka and her father, Gary. It wasn't like other father-daughter relationships he had observed. These two seemed to be overtly rude towards another, but they tolerated that kind of attitude towards one another. Nathan would try to get his take in that kind of approach with either of them, but he figured it wouldn't have been properly recognized as it was between the two of them.

The two of them waited for Ellen to pack up some things for their trip. Like her father, she managed to pack a red dress. She caught him looking at it, but Nathan looked away to avoid her gaze.

When they were ready, they headed over to the Valley of Heroes. To access it, they had to pass over the hills of Camp Half-blood on its eastern border. This passage was called the Passage of Hercules. From where they stood, Nathan saw the adjacent valley. It held a spectacular landscape, one that was yet to be intruded by the colonization of demigods. Most of it was unsettled, left in its natural state. The only exception were the roads that were carved out, some being only dirt, in the unsettled areas, and others being made of stone.

At the center of the valley, being fed by two rivers, was an island, big enough to hold a picnic-like area. There were pavilions on the shore of the mainland, and a shrine at the very center. Nathan assumed it was for all the gods. Still, he enjoyed the view.

"This is the Valley of Heroes?" he asked, to which both Gary and Ellen replied. "How does one claim ownership of property here?"

"Live long enough," Gary commented. There was a hint of bitterness in his statement. Nathan theorized that it was because he was among the very few of the older demigods that had survived the war last year. That would explain why there were less than three, possibly two houses. It saddened Nathan to think of the once beautiful neighborhoods that once stood there, destroyed in the blink of an eye. "Come on, this way."

Gary led them down the hill onto a lonely, but naturally beautiful street. He saw a street sign that read: _Achilles Avenue_.

"Are all the streets named after ancient heroes?" Nathan asked, his eyes still fixed on the street sign as they walked past it.

"Yes," Ellen confirmed.

"More to be added as we get more houses here," Gary commented.

The three of them arrived to a lonely house at the end of Achilles Avenue. It was single home, plus a garage. The mailbox in the front yard read: _Hound_. Nathan was interested in seeing what the inside looked like, but feared that their journey was not going to lead them to the inside of Gary's house. Instead, they went to the garage, which opened up as soon as they were within some distance of it.

Besides the random stuff in there, there were two cars. One was under a drape. The other was an SUV, which apparently was a hybrid, running on both fossil fuels and electricity.

"With most of the gas gone, it's a necessity, not a luxury," Nathan mused himself. He caught Gary and Ellen looking at him strangely for a second.

"Get in," Gary commanded. Ellen got up in the front passenger seat. "We've got a long drive ahead of us."


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**XI**

**JAKE**

**The Third Cohort marched in formation alongside its other Team Tornitruum allies, despite the opposition the defenders were giving.** The First and Second Cohorts that comprised Team Fulminis had constructed a fort that sat on the only hill in the Field of Mars, giving them the advantage of height and altitude, which allowed them to see much farther than they could. It also made the approach a little trickier, as the enemy's firing range went pretty far out and would be within range before either of the approaching cohorts could effectively respond.

There was also the matter of getting into the fort itself. Team Fulminis had created the entrance on the opposite side that they were coming from, meaning Jake and his cohort had to come very close to the fort, go around its perimeter (while still in range from the defenders' attacks), and knock down the gate once they got there. It was a tall order, but luckily the centurions of Team Tornitruum had been discussing the possibility of this kind of scenario.

Team Tornitruum's strategy for the War Game was relatively simple. First, two cohorts would assault the fort head-on, while carrying siege ladders. When they got close enough, they would launch the ladders against the wall. Should the besiegers take that portion of the wall fast enough, they could open the gate for their third cohort to enter and overrun the fort's defenders from multiple sides.

The Third Cohort was coming in closer now. In just a few more moments, they would be within range of the ballistae, whose padded bolts could knock out columns of advancing attackers. Even with their _scutum_ shields, they would be taken out regardless.

As they marched toward the fortress, Jake noticed a small painted rock. His fear of coming within range of the enemy's artillery had become real.

"Adrian! Jade!" Jake shouted to his superior officers. They tried glancing at him while they marched. "Call the _testudo!_"

"What are you talking about- " Adrian tried to say, just as the Fourth Cohort (who was advancing on the side of the fort with the Third) took a huge hit from a padded ballistae bolt. A whole two columns of them got knocked on their butts, splitting open the entire cohort. "Oh, crap. _TESTUDO!_"

Within seconds, the entire cohort stopped in their tracks. Everyone closed clustered together, while the flanks held their _scuta _to the sides. In the next moment, row upon row of _scuta_ riveted over one another. In the last phase, everyone closed in tighter once more. The end product was a large tortoise-like shield mass, which provided itself protection on all attacking sides.

Inside, Jake was crammed with the Cramer's and the rest of the Third Cohort. Go figure. The overhead shields grafted with the shields in front to provide an opening for the centurions just big enough to look through. The downside to this tactic was that the cohort would move exponentially slower… _like a tortoise_. Go figure, twice. They were also slower to react to attacks from any side that wasn't the front. In fact, their overall offensive ability was significantly reduced in the _testudo_ formation.

"Good call, Jake," Jade complimented her younger cousin. Jake was beaming with pride at this point, but refocused his attention to the group's efforts. They were advancing a lot closer now. If they were able to close enough distance, they would be too close for their ballistae to fire on them, the walls blocking any shot on them.

"Keep moving!" Jade shouted as they slowly advanced. A ballistae fired right onto them, forcing the rear flank to split open. A couple of exposed legionnaires were then shot by padded arrows from the battlements above. Others rushed to get back into the _testudo_ formation. "Stay together!"

"Archers overhead!" Adrian called out, encouraging those who were about to break formation to stick together. "Keep the _testudo_ tight!"

The Third Cohort inched its ground with dedicated stride. Jake's eyes were looking out for any kind of markers that might indicate what range they were in. He almost didn't notice the rock that was painted blue, but when he did, his eyes widened.

Jake shot his head forward just in time to see the defenders line up the water cannons, their barrels locked right on to them. Apparently neither of the centurions had spotted them, because they were still advancing.

"Opening on center!" Jade commanded. The cohort then maneuvered inside their _testudo_ formation to provide an open space in the very center of the front row. Jade and Adrian moved in to fill that gap. "Company, halt!"

The cohort stopped in its tracks, just as the water cannons unleashed their hydraulic fury. The water shoot right at them, but didn't force them back. Instead, it was frozen in midair, covered in a case of ice that rapidly continued its growth toward the barrel of the water cannon. The cannon was then frozen beyond repair, or at least any kind of repair during the War Game. The tactic, allowed by Jade and Adrian's lineage under Khione (the goddess of snow and ice), left an entire of the battlement defenseless. All that was left were the actual defenders, armed with whatever they had on them… and the _other_ water cannon, which was on their right flank.

The entire side of the Third Cohort was ripped open by the blast of the water cannon. Legionnaires, _probation_, and all. In the next moment, a wave of previously hidden archers emerged from the battlements from above and began firing on them, knocking several of their troops out. At the same time, the water cannon was mowing down any hopes of a group trying to form a _testudo_ or any kind of defensive position.

The water cannon knocked right on top of Jake, but he managed to keep on his feet, although he was on his knees at this point. From this position, he wasn't able to move, only endure. He knew, however, that he wouldn't be able to hold this up much longer. He needed to find some way to take out the water cannon.

Rolling to his right, Jake lifted up his _scutum_ to cause the following trail of blasted water to bounce off of the surface of his shield, spraying everyone else around him. Friendly fire. In a singular motion, Jake threw his shield overhead, releasing it at the same time. The effect caused the water to deflect off of his shield while he darted forward, completely unencumbered.

"Jake!" Jade shouted, more like gargled, as she got mowed down by the water cannon. Jake had been reprimanded several times for breaking from formation to engage the enemy by himself. He couldn't help it. He blamed his legacy from Mars, exploiting openings and opportunities as he saw them. This time, Jake would be saving his cohort.

Concentrating, Jake focused in on the water cannon itself. He felt the ground shake a little as he kept on concentrating. A couple of the defenders became aware of him and started focusing their fire on him. At the same time, his fellow cohort members moved to shield him with their _scuta_. Padded arrows bounced off the shields as Jake kept on concentrating his powers.

Growing up, his mom helped him develop his powers from Neptune. At age seven, he was capable of walking on water. At age 12, he could summon small fissures and earthquakes with magnitudes reaching up to 3.4. He knew he wasn't as great as some of the other Neptune demigod legacies before him, like the one who supposedly caused the 1907 San Francisco earthquake, but he kept on working on his abilities. When he had the chance, he would practice with his cousins, Javier (who was a legacy of the Greek god of the seas, Poseidon).

The water cannon swiveled on its base and fixed its aim on him and those who were foolish enough to defend him. But just as it fired its column of pressured water, Jake threw up his arm, causing the water cannon to explode from within. The end result made it look like a fire hydrant had gone off, shooting water up into the air, creating the feeling that it was raining. From the expenditure of energy that trick cost him, he would need it.

The water was replenishing to Jake, even as it touched the surface of his skin. Everyone else got wet, except for him. He was completely dry in the middle of the rain.

"Company, fall back to formation!" Jade shouted as the opportunity showed itself. They were very close to setting up the ladders against the battlements.

"Get those ladders loaded and ready on my go!" Adrian pointed, commanding some of the other legionnaires. Jake ran over to the ladder that had been knocked from their possession during the bombardment from the water cannons. A couple of others did the same. "Ready, up, and lift!"

Everyone who was pitching in heaved and lifted the ladder overhead. Jake was straining at this point, but knew that he had to get over the wall if he wanted to win the War Game. Jade had a company of equal size doing the same task with another ladder.

"Fix base!" Adrian shouted in the middle of their shuttle run. Those who were in the front shifted the wooden ladder downward, hitting the ground. The motion sent the back end upward, with some soldiers already loaded on, Jake being one of them.

It was a little foolish, sitting on the step of the ladder while it essentially acted like a catapult, flinging all of them who were on it forward and onto the defenders' battlements, but it got the job done. Only Team Tornitruum would be brave enough to try something like that.

Jake landed onto the battlement, crashing into a couple of the defenders, knocking others off. He was quick to get back on his feet as he scavenged a shield and used it to force other defenders either off or back to create enough space for the rest of their cohort, who were taking the cautious (but slower) method of actually climbing the ladder.

Other defenders tried crashing into him with their shields, but Jake kept up his defense. He had trained himself to become a fortress when his _scutum_ was raised. He had also trained vigorously to thrust his _gladius_ overhead as a means of some kind of attack. Whether or not he hit someone mattered not. It was the fact that he was creating s buffer zone with himself that counted.

In seconds, he could feel a pat on his shoulder, an indication that the others from his cohort had scaled over the wall and were able to switch places with him. Jake stepped to the side, then moved back as one of his fellow cohort members moved up. It was a tactic that his ancestors, the real Romans had used to maintain the energy and stamina of the cohort, while their enemy tired.

In the back of the growing buffer zone on the battlements, Jake saw the rest of defenders struggle to keep Team Tornitruum at bay. Others were coming over the battlements, thinning the lines on the battlements, while others were starting to create defensive barriers around their team banner, their ultimate goal of the War Game. There were too many at the moment for him to run down and get it himself. At the moment, obtaining the banner was not the primary objective. No, they would need to open up the front gate, which was on the other side to allow the Fifth Cohort to run in and (hopefully) finish the game.

"Oi, _chico_," an older teen called out to Jake. It was Centurion Cain Alvarez, from the Fourth Cohort. He was dripping from his previous encounter with the water cannons, but otherwise, still battle-worthy. "If we can get you to the gate, will you open it?"

"Nero, he's not your legionnaire!" Jade shouted, protesting his proposal. As a soldier of the Third Cohort, he was bound to obey the orders of his superiors in that cohort. Even if someone of equal rank from another cohort told him otherwise. At least that's how Howard explained it to him.

"Hey, _Jade_," Cain said. His voice sounded like he was flirting with him. "How about you and me find some quiet time after the game, and we can- "

"Okay, fine!" she shouted, giving up. Jade then looked Jake in the eye, pulling him close. "Don't mess this one up for us. Okay?"

"Got it, ma'am!" Jake responded jokingly. He was going to have to talk about that thing with Nero with her when he got the chance. Jake hoped that Adrian didn't know about it, or if he did, that he didn't care much for it. "Lead the way, Centurion Alvarez!"

"Alright, boys!" the centurion called out. Several members of the Fourth Cohort moved to intercept incoming defenders who were hoping to stop their advance. "Hope you got your daily apple, because if you didn't, then eat up!"

The officer tossed a golden apple towards a group of defenders. They looked at it for a second, then at each other. In the next second, they were all fighting for it, diving on top of each other and grabbing each other. Jake wasn't going to ask what that was… mostly because he didn't have time to. They were effectively moving around the center of the fort's courtyard, which held up Team Fulminis' banner. The maneuver was causing some of them to reform their defensive position to cover their open flanks, weakening the sides they had abandoned.

They closed in on the gate winch, which Jake was quick to operate. But he was unable to get it to open by himself. He would need the help of another to force it open.

"I need your help!" Jake shouted to the centurion, who was trying to coordinate the small group of soldiers he had brought with him. He ran over to help him out.

The gate winch was a tube of wood with several holes in it. Two rods laid on the ground. Jake picked up one, while Centurion Alvarez picked up the other. First, Jake would slide his rod into the hole, then pull back and downwards, pulling it out afterward. Then, the officer would do the same with a hole on his side. They repeated the process whole the small group of Fourth Cohort members struggled to keep some of the defenders away from the winching station.

They kept the process going until a new wave of people starting flooding in from their side – the side from where the gate was opening! They had done it! Soon, all of the Fifth Cohort was moving in to bash the defenders from their rear flank.

But victory for Team Tornitruum would not come so quickly.

Descending from the battlement above, Scott Ward, centurion of the First Cohort plummeted onto the Fourth Cohort members, incapacitating them on impact. When he was able to, he glanced over at Jake and Centurion Alvarez.

"I got this one," the officer said to Jake, holding out his arm while he moved forward to engage the augur/centurion. "I think it's about time we got even."

Centurion Alvarez moved forward, his arm extended, using his _gladius _in a stabbing motion. Scott moved to the side, then whipped the end of his bow against the back of the Fourth Cohort centurion's head. He moved around to face the red-haired hazard, who had just pulled out his own _plugio_ dagger.

Scott kept a sharp look on his face, his eyes narrowed, like a hunter, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Unlike his Fourth Cohort counterpart, Scott was trained in the ways of the Order of Romulus, to be swift and unforgiving in battle, moving and attacking at sides the enemy does not have the mind to look out for. It was contradictory to what the Legion had taught them, attacking head on from the front, staying as a group or unit for the betterment of all, but in this case, when rank and file mattered as much as the cost of corn, some rules were exempted.

Centurion Alvarez didn't even see the next move coming when Scott unleashed a ball of light and shoved it into his face. The centurion was blinded, dazed, aching from some kind of muscle cramp. Jake's eyes widened, the memory of a similar experience coming to mind.

"You!" Jake barked at Scott, who was just turning to face him. The legionnaire knew that he wouldn't be able to pull another trick that like in succession in so short of time, so he charged for him. His shield raised, Jake collided right with Scott Ward, who was anticipating the usage of his own powers.

Jake was enraged. He was enraged by the fact that it was Scott who was in on the secret society, who was embedded within their groups, going as far to fight for them.

He didn't even notice Javier pulling him away. His senses returning to him, Jake noticed that everyone else was cheering in triumph (except for Team Fulminis, who had lost). For that long moment Scott and Jake kept their gazes fixed on each other, knowing very well what the other person was thinking.

_We'll meet again_, he wanted to say. _And this time, I'll get the truth from you_.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**XII**

**NATHAN**

**Nathan's quest was taking its time during its longest, and perhaps most boring phase.** Gary had been driving Ellen and him through the country as they headed west. If his instinct was right, they were supposed to be headed for Las Vegas. What they were supposed to be doing was something Nathan was not aware of. They passed through most of the Midwest, before taking the famous Route 66 for the rest of the journey.

They decided they would stop at the first hotel they saw when the first day came to an end. It was a small motel with little to no occupants.

"This will be our stop for the night," Gary said as he pulled the SUV into the parking lot. It was well past dusk, and they had just crossed the Mississippi and were somewhere in St. Louis. They could have picked any other hotel in the urban area, one with more than 20 people there, but Gary chose this one. "They fewer people, the better."

While Gary went to go get some sleep, Nathan and Ellen were both pretty restless from just sitting in a vehicle all day long. So they both headed out to the pool. Nathan felt that he would be causing their only driver too much of a headache if he were to stay in the room. So down to the pool he went.

Ellen sat on the edge with her bare feet dipped in. Nathan was a little tempted to do the same, but he was fearful of the water. Being a descendant of Pluto, the other Big Three gods (Neptune and Jupiter) were ever vigilant when it came to him or his kind crossing over into their territories, namely – water. The ocean, rivers, and lakes were especially dangerous, because Neptune had greater influence over those than he did with regular motel pools. So, after some thought, he decided he would join Ellen.

"Finally decided to grow some chest hair and be man?" she jested, as Nathan cautiously placed his feet under the pool's water. When he finally stopped being alert, he felt relaxed. Nathan noticed her eyes were fixed on some part of his body.

"What?" Nathan asked. She reached over and grabbed his left forearm. For a girl, she a pretty tight grip, even if she wasn't trying to make it tight. It must have been from all that weapons training.

"Your tattoos," she stated, turning his arm to see his brand.

Nathan had the symbol of his people, the SPQR, which meant _Senatus Populusqe Romanus_ or "The Senate and People of Rome." Underneath that were three stripes, fashioned like your everyday barcode. It was a status of the years of service he had, as well as any significant accomplishments (like quests) he had made. Three. He joined when he was just ten years old. It felt like such a long time ago. Below that, were symbols for Pluto and Minerva.

"You're familiar with what they mean?" he asked the Greek girl. She didn't answer. Instead, she was counting the stripes.

"You're not like your brothers, are you?" Ellen asked him, out of the blue. Nathan pulled his arm away. He felt a frown grow on his face. No, he wasn't. He wouldn't even be trying to make things right if he was anything like his brothers. He probably wouldn't even be alive.

"I think you know the answer to that one," Nathan said semi-sarcastically. No, he wasn't like his brothers at all. They were so much older than him, with a different set of friends and whatnot. His brothers, from how he remembered them, liked to hang out with their friends. Nathan was always planting a book to his face. He loved reading and just generally acquiring knowledge. "My brothers were more outgoing than I was. But they kept a small group of friends. Some of them including Evan Pravus."

"Oh, right," Ellen said awkwardly. She looked back at the water, letting go of his tattooed arm.

"That thing with _your dad_, I mean, er, Gary… " Nathan tried to mention. Ellen looked back over towards his way.

"Yeah, found out a year ago, while the war was going on," she recalled. Nathan must have imagined what that felt like. In the middle of a crisis that would have altered the course of demigod history, shocking revelations about the people you thought you knew would have been a lot to take in. "My mom managed to send him the word that I was his biological daughter. I didn't even know it until I read the letter he almost died protecting."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Nathan tried to share his condolences with her. He knew what it felt like to lose the people you loved. With her, it was her mother. With him, his brothers. "I wish there was something more I could do than just words."

"Isn't that why you're out here?" she said. "I mean, _you_, of all people. You're trying to make things right? Make up for what they did?"

Nathan didn't comment. She knew what he was trying to do. Was it really wrong for him to feel guilty of something he didn't do? Should have been held accountable for it? He wasn't involved in their operations before, during, or after their betrayal. Nor did he have any knowledge of it, until after the fact. Was it his responsibility to make things right, or should he have just let the Fates decide? These questions bubbled on Nathan's mind continuously throughout every day, since last year.

He looked up at the night sky of St. Louis. They say when a hero died, they would be remembered as a star, or a constellation. It's kind of how people in places like Hollywood wanted to "become a star." Sort of. Anyway, Nathan looked up and wondered… if the stars were a place for heroes, where do his brothers go?

"Hey, Socrates," Ellen called to Nathan. He was going off on a mental tangent again. He hated it when he did that, but the discoveries he had made along the way made it seem worthwhile most of the time. "How did you deal with it? I mean, losing your brothers?"

That was going to be answered with a short explanation. His brothers were villains, scum traitors, wretched, vile. His brothers were his family, blood relation. Nathan didn't handle it well. He was confused, scared, angry, sad, and just completely lost with everything he knew. The last year hadn't been the easiest for him.

"It was… _hard_," he admitted. He felt a tear build up in one of his eyes. He tried to diverting attention to go back onto her. "What about you? How did you get through it?"

"I had support," Ellen recalled. That was something Nathan didn't have. It was one of the results of their betrayal. No one trusted Nathan, or treated him as a fellow soldier. His own parents were going through their own grieving process to the point where he couldn't get much support from them. He was on his own. "For when she was still alive, there was Katrina. _Cam_ was also there, a lot. Derek tried to, but he was gone too… Surprisingly, Gary had been trying harder than I imagined he would. It means a lot."

Nathan was so lost in his memory of last year, when he was processing everything all too fast. His mind wandered back to his interrogation with Praetor Amos.

_Nathan had just received another punch to his abdomen. He was in so much pain, that it made it hard to think or respond to the praetor's questions. He was choking, gasping for air. Nathan wanted to be anywhere but there. Away from pain and fear._

_"My patience is running pretty thin," the praetor warned him. Nathan was still coughing and gagging. After a couple of moments, he managed to catch a breath. Amos was standing over him, waiting for a response. "Now tell me, when did brothers show signs they were going to betray the Legion?"_

_"I… I don't know," Nathan said in a weak voice. Howard paced around him for a second, obviously dissatisfied with the response. "No, Nathan, that's not good enough. You need to tell me who your brothers' friends were, how often they stayed over, how long. You need to give me something other than no."_

_"But I already told you I don't know anything!" he exclaimed. Howard, with his iron grip, placed a water rag over and around his head and face. Nathan was beginning to feel a little claustrophobic, his breathing picking up in speed._

_"Last chance," he said to Nathan, who was moving some kind of bucket or container behind him. "Give me something. NOW!"_

_"I CAN'T!" Nathan screamed through the wet rag over his face. Without another word, Howard began pouring water onto his face. The sensation from the rag over his face combined with the water, created a drowning sensation for Nathan, terrifying him and causing him to struggle in his seat. He was also being leaned back in his seat to further increase the feeling. In seconds, water was entering his system, further panicking him._

_"TELL ME!" the praetor screamed at Nathan was he continued his waterboarding technique. Nathan was beginning to lose consciousness. In seconds, he would have officially drowned. "TELL ME!"_

_"THERE'S NOTHING!" Nathan struggled to say. Praetor Amos let Nathan up and pull off the rag over his face. By this time, the legionnaire was almost dead, gasping for air, forcing water out of his system. He spent the next couple of moments trying to recover his life force. "There's nothing else to say… I don't… I don't know anything. Please. Everything I told you is what I know. Just stop, please. I complied. Stop, stop."_

_The praetor stood up straight, pondering something. Nathan couldn't figure out what his edge was at the time of the interrogation, but knew that he was willing to do anything, without stopping, to find the truth. Nathan felt a tug in his stomach. He was just trying to stay alive at this point. Amos paced around furiously, trying to think of his next move. There was sweat on his face, as well as water on his clothes. Nathan was dripping wet all over._

_Amos then left the room, slamming the door behind him. Nathan was left shivering from being wet, cold. Alone. The lights then shut off, further expanding his discomforts. After a couple of minutes in, his moans turned into long, miserable sobs._

_Nathan deserved this. He need to have been more vigilant of everyone, of his brothers. He deserved to be dehumanized, humiliated, and tortured like this. He deserved it because he was weak. His weakness had caused all of this. If Nathan were stronger when his brothers were still around, he would have been able to stop them and prevented all of this. This was what Nathan had convinced himself. He was at fault because of weakness. And that weakness would be his bane until it was defeated._

Nathan broke his trancelike recollection process. He wasn't even aware that Ellen had left. Instead, he looked at his reflection in the pool. The touch of water soon felt hostile to him from the memory. Nathan quickly took his legs out of the pool, destroying whatever image was left of him.

He stood up over the pool, about to leave, when he saw a new image. It was a woman, with long, dark hair that cascaded over shoulders. She was equipped with a spear and shield. Nathan immediately recognized the goddess in the reflection of the pool. She was looking straight at him, not with contempt, but with patience and understanding.

"Minerva?" Nathan called out to the water.

"Nathan, do not burden yourself with guilt," she said to him. She spoke without moving her mouth, but the words came to his mind. "What has been done is done. Your quest to protect the Greeks will depend on you. Do not let yourself be less than what you are."

"How can I make things right, when so much wrong has been done?" he asked. He wanted an answer, a plan. Something to use to approach his feelings logically.

"I'm afraid there is no clear strategy for that," she spoke softly. "But I do know, that things will only get better if you believe they will. It's not the usual wisdom I impart to others, but I know what you can do with it."

"You know of my quest?" Nathan asked, thinking that the gods had taken notice of him. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. He then realized that she was an Olympian, capable of seeing most things that had occurred. "Tell me, what must I do?"

"You must conquer a fear," she said, reciting a part from the Oracle's prophecy. "Only you will be able to do that."

Nathan heard Minerva's words and pondered them. In every situation, he approaches things logically and rationally. Everything outside of those spectrums could not be properly evaluated and accounted for. But this quest had sent him into the realms of the illogical and irrational. A Roman, striving to help the Greeks. The brother of killers, helping the victims' loved ones. He was so far lost in this sea of doubt and confusion. And it seems his fear being conquered was the only way he was going to get out.

_The next day…_

Gary was driving the three of them for hours without end. They were getting closer and closer to Las Vegas, Nevada, according to the maps he had been looking at. Nathan figured he would take the time they had before arriving to their destination to get to know about what they were going to do be dealing with.

"You said you're familiar with where we're headed?" Nathan asked Gary. Ellen was sitting in the back this time, catching up on some sleep.

"The Lotus Casino and Hotel, the one and only," the demigod explained to Nathan. "I was part of a group to pick up a very upset satyr."

"How did it go?" Nathan asked the veteran hero.

"Well, after a lot of words, most of them pretty harsh, we managed to get him out of the bar," Gary jested, a small grin appearing on his face from the memory of his experience. "Haven't seen him around all that much these days."

"Okay, but how does that help us find the lotus flower?" Nathan asked. He had taken into account that the name of their intended destination was the Lotus Casino and Hotel. It was a pretty good shot if they were looking for lotus flowers. But most casinos don't feature flowers, and if they did, they would be obscured by the large mass of people and slot machines.

"They have attendants going around serving edible lotus flowers," Gary explained. Nathan tried to imagine how they would convert a flower into an edible snack. He guessed he would have to ground up the lotus flowers and add it to some kind of baked good… Nathan caught himself going off on a tangent again. He quickly snapped to and tried focusing back on Gary. "They dull your senses and make you unaware of time. All it takes is one bite. Though, I will admit, they had some pretty awesome vintage arcade games there."

"So you did get caught in its trap… " Nathan pointed out. Gary made a displeased frown.

"I'm surprised I hadn't for as long as I was there," he recalled. "So we managed to make it out. And now I am going to back. The Fates have a way of screwing with us, don't they?"

Nathan knew Gary had no idea.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**XIII**

**JAKE**

**Jake never lost sight of Scott Ward.** After the War Game, he kept an eye on him, following him wherever he went. Jake could have easily and called him out for being part of the secret society, but Jake knew that might have halted any further progress into his investigation beyond Scott. Howard's constant presence also made things a little more difficult. The praetor knew that Jake and Cindy were supposed to be out on the field investigating. If they spent too much time under his radar, he might think they were either being derelict of their duties, or detect something else.

For the most part, however, Howard did not suspect either Jake, Cindy, or Scott during the War Game's debrief. Team Tronitruum had successfully retrieved Team Fulminis' flag. Scott paid Cain a small amount of money, most likely from a wager. It was a little funny to see them being so casual around each other, especially since they were almost killing each other during the War Game. Jake knew that was how the Legion worked. Work hard, play harder.

When everyone was dismissed, Cindy and Jake hung back while they watched Scott talk to Hannah. They had been going out, despite what the advisory panels in the Senate were saying about their relationship being in conflict with the checks and balances of the Roman way. Hannah was a praetor, an elected official who co-administrated and co-executed the law, as well as co-lead the Legion. She held the highest position of political and military power within New Rome. Scott was both the augur and a centurion. He held a seat on the Senate, a position of power, as well as the ceremonial position of augur. The theory was that their union would allow them control of the military, administration, some voice in the Senate, and the ceremonial identity of New Rome. That much power, as the Romans believed, should never been so great with so few.

Still, they kept their love strong and proud. At least Scott did. Jake was sure Hannah felt the same way about her boyfriend, but couldn't necessarily express those feelings in the same way the augur could. Whenever they would mingle, it was always away from any large group of people. When there was a festival and she wasn't giving some kind of speech, she was with Scott.

The amount of time they spent together made Jake very impatient as he and Cindy waited for them. He looked over at Cindy, who wasn't really paying them much attention.  
Jake wasn't really surprised. If it was his sister with someone like… _Howard_, Jake wouldn't want to spend any effort above the minimum to watch them do their thing.

"You guys kicked our butts today," Cindy acknowledged. She looked over to him. The night had already kicked in, but there was a bit of a breeze going through, causing Cindy's hair to flow with the wind. Jake didn't respond. He wasn't much of person for small chat, at least not with people he didn't know. Cindy had been part of the same division cell as him, but they never really did exchange much idle chat. Why would he start now? "Right… "

Jake looked back over to Scott, who was just parting ways with Hannah, as the two head off in their own directions. The augur caught note of the two young investigators and started heading their way. When he caught up to them, he paced right by them. Jake and Cindy then followed, keeping in pace with him.

"Why the heck did you pull that trick on me?" Jake angrily questioned Scott.

"Does he know?" Scott asked. Jake thought it was him, and was about to answer until Cindy interjected.

"Not everything, but enough," she answered.

Scott led them through a couple of alleyways.

"What do you know about us, Jake?" Scott asked him.

"I know that you and Cindy are somehow involved with some kind of secret society that supposedly descends from Aeneas," Jake spoke. "And I know that my great-grandmother, sort of, is one of those descendants, making me one as well."

"Huh, I'm surprised you've managed to get that much," Scott commented. They took a turn past a quiet neighborhood. "How did it feel when you found out you were the descendant of a hero from the Trojan War?"

"He ran away," Jake indicated. The story of Aeneas didn't sound all that great. Sure, he founded what eventually become Rome, but that was only because he was unable to protect what was already his. Aeneas was really just relocating, if anything. "I don't think that's anything to feel puffed up about."

"Most don't perceive him that way," Scott noted. He chuckled a little bit as they continued through the streets at night. "Well then, Sherlock. You've got this far. You've identified the suspect and his methods, and his history. But you're missing one important thing. What is his motive? Why is he doing the things that he does?"

Jake didn't immediately have an answer for that one. They kept walking until they came to a fountain in a public square. It was empty now, but he was familiar with it. He had been there with Cindy earlier in their investigation. This was the place where the ball got rolling, and now they had come full circle.

Scott walked over to the statue of what was Aeneas, standing over his soon to be executed opponent.

"History lesson, Jake," Scott began to speak. "When Aeneas came over to the Italian peninsula, he was about to be freely given the hand of Lavinia, the king's daughter. It was what the gods had told the king, but this guy over here in his back, Turnus, was not cool with that. He was already the prime suitor for Lavinia's hand, so when he was about to lose to Aeneas, he waged war on him. Basically, the duke it out for a bit, and it comes down to these two. Aeneas kills him and becomes the king. Why? Why would he even consider becoming king?"

Jake though about Scott's question for a moment. His eyes wandered until they landed on the plaque:

_Follow the bloodline_

_Through back in time_

_Of the ancestors of Rome_

_Find our new home_

His mind then clicked with an idea. _Find our new home_. Aeneas was looking for their new home. It would replace the Troy that they lost to the Greeks. It was Rome. Rome was supposed to be Aeneas' New Troy.

"You're trying to make this city your version of Troy," Jake concluded. He was stunned by this information he had just processed. That would put them in conflict with the Order of Romulus. Scott was essentially betraying the Order and Howard, and Hannah, as well as the rest of Rome by working with this secret society. He looked at Cindy but saw another traitor. He couldn't let them continue. He felt compelled to go to Howard and report this treachery. "That's not going to happen."

Jake postured himself so that he could be able to react to possible attacks from either Scott or Cindy. Neither of them followed suit, but stood there. Scott seemed very calm. Cindy looked very worried, but wasn't going to position herself for combat with him.

"Think about it, Jake," Scott politely suggested. "If I wanted to fight you, I would have temporarily blinded you, or worse. That just goes to show that we're not about taking over Rome."

"You've probably lied a couple of times during the time you've been working for them," Jake noted, his hands still raised as fists. "How do I know you aren't lying to me now or later?"

"Jake, you're one of us," he said. It sounded like he was trying to persuade him, but he wasn't entirely wrong. Jake was a descendant of Aeneas, whether he knew it or not. By blood relation, he was part of this secret society. He just didn't know it yet. "If you want to go to Howard, I won't stop you. The others, I'm not so sure about. Please, think about the decision you're about to make."

"What's your angle in this?" Jake asked Scott, as he kept his fighting position.

"I protect a very important individual," Scott explained. Jake immediately identified him as the bodyguard that Otis and Dale were talking about. Another piece to the puzzle. His discovery was detected by Scott, judging by the change of the look on his face. "No, you won't tell Howard. You can't."

"And why is that?" Jake asked. His stance was beginning to relax. When he noticed this, Jake repositioned himself. Scott was still very calm in the way stood.

"You want to find more," Scott spoke. His words began to reciprocate in his mind. He wanted to find out more about the descendants of Aeneas, especially if they were so embedded within New Rome. And he wanted to find out more about his very distant blood relatives. There was a lot of unanswered questions, and if Jake were to turn what he currently had in to Howard, the group would likely disband, or fall beneath the Order's notice over time. That, and Scott and Howard's relationship would crumble to dust. That would in turn affect Hannah in some way or another. In the end, it would all still come back to bite him. "Your compliance is the only real way things are going to be able to run smoothly."

Jake stance kept firm as he weighed his situation with conviction. Do the right thing, and there would be a huge insurrection in the Order of Romulus, as well as between the praetors. Do nothing, and the secret society could gain the upper hand with his silence, moving closer to their goal of taking over New Rome. Jake felt sweat coming down the side of his head. Exhaling deeply, he lowered his stance. He unclenched his fists.

A small grin appeared on Scott's face.

"Fine, I won't tell him," Jake submitted. He didn't like being forced into this kind of situation, but knew that it was the only decision he could make if he wanted to continue with the investigation. Maybe, later on, once he had enough he could put some leverage on the secret society. He still felt wrong about pledging himself to silence. "But you have to tell me more."

"No, I'm not going to tell you," Scott refused, but there was still that look on his face. 'I'll _show_ you more. This way."

Scott led Cindy and Jake through some more parts of town at night. It was getting late, but Jake needed to know more. It wasn't so much a wanting to now, more of a necessity. He would bide his time, knowing well enough that more information would be on the way.

They soon came to an entrance that went into the underground portions of the city. Jake took note of where he was in the city. It was in the Old Rome district. Inside, the passageways were dark and largely abandoned. There was also the smell of the sewers rampant. Jake tried holding his nose while he followed Scott. The augur appeared to have been unaffected by the smell. Cindy looked like she was struggling a bit, but not as much as Jake.

Scott led them to a ladder that was situated some distance within the underground network. The Order of Romulus used a similar network, and was utilized during the Siege of New Rome just a year ago. The Golden Age Revolution could have taken the city if it weren't for the Order using the sewers and other underground systems to their advantage. Surprise attacks and ambushes, covered retreats, and a secured information network were some of the advantages given to them. But it would seem that Evan Pravus, being formerly part of the Order of Romulus, had his troops attempt to take over the sewers and underground networks.

Jake followed Scott up the ladder. He was in some dark room, with only a few lights overhead turned on. They provided some, but minimal lighting. It was just enough for him to follow the augur.

It was only when he entered the next room did he realize where he was.

Jake stood in a small parlor, which was adjoined by a large gymnasium-like room, and the pantry room he had used to enter the building. It was the Del Sol mansion, home of the Wards, which the three of them were standing in. Jake noticed someone was training in the practice room nearby.

The Del Sol mansion was originally built the by the Del Sol family during the founding of New Rome, making them one of the founding families. The Del Sol's held a continuing position as augur, as the family had descended from Apollo, the god of prophecy. The Del Sol's had been involved in some key events of New Rome, including the post-Varus era, in which there was a huge political vacuum, following the death of Michael Varus and his loss of the golden eagle standard. Martin del Sol, as augur, worked closely with William Amos, as praetor, to keep the city in order.

But the Del Sol's also took some heavy losses. In the previous generation, it would be Martin again who made the headlines. The former augur was supposedly killed by Jake's dad. When he was convicted for murder by the Senate, he was sentenced to public execution, only to have Mars, the god of war to intervene. The execution would then be turned into a trial by fire, in which Jake's dad almost killed the adopted heir of the Del Sol's – Clancy Ward. It was interesting to note how Jake found himself at odds with Scott.

Jake hated when history repeated itself like that.

"Look around you," Scott pointed out.

Jake did so, once the lights were turned on. The parlor he stood in was almost circular. He looked around and didn't really find anything of note. But then he looked again. The lack of furniture made him look at the less obvious clues. It wasn't until he saw literal writings on the walls did he realize what he was standing in. He made a complete 360 with his eyes on the walls. What stood there was a written record of families. It was like having multiple family trees written on the walls. Jake stepped up to the walls, looking for where his family was, since he was supposedly a descendant of Aeneas.

He saw, toward his knee-height, a group of names and information, darker in print. That must have meant that it was more recently written. He saw his own name, as well as that of his sister's. It read: _Katrina Darrow, 2014-2030._ The year was currently 2031. Just to the side was Jake's own place in the family tree: _Jacob Darrow, 2018- ._ Above him were mom and dad: _Carolina Westfield, 1994- . Lucius Darrow, 1993-2025_.

Jake remembered when his dad had died. It wasn't something he liked to remember. In fact, he hated it. Jake shifted his attention to the other families. He even went up the Westfield family line. He kept on roving around until he found a name that froze him where he stood: _Cameron Smith, 2016- ._

Cameron Smith. He was a Greek demigod legacy of Zeus and Hecate. He was also one of the nicest and most well-known Greeks in Camp Jupiter and New Rome. He was onboard the _Princess Andromeda II_ to confront Pravus and his inner circle. He was also the one who summoned enough power to whisk the flying fortress away from the city, as its reactor cores began to overload. If it weren't for his abilities, the city would have been a giant pile of rubble.

But Jake didn't stop there. He went up one generation and noticed that it was Cameron's mom, Seline McRoy, who was the member of the secret society, as only some of the names were written in blue, including Jake's and his mom's. He looked up another generation and saw that Cameron's grandfather had a sister. This sister's name and information was written in red, unlike the others who were written in either blue for Aeneas' blood, or regular black. The woman, Sue Courtenay, had a son, whose name was also written in red: _Alex Courtenay, 1994-2030_. Below that, also written in red, was: _Blake Courtenay, 2013- ._

Blake Courtenay was another Greek demigod legacy of Zeus and Apollo. He was one of the leaders of the Greeks during the Golden Age Revolutionary War, and (from what Jake has heard) is still one of the primary leaders of the Greeks at Camp Half-blood.

Jake's eyes widened as he realized that both Cameron Smith and Blake (cousins to one another), were both members of this secret society. They were both descendants of Aeneas. Blake, for the reason of his name being written in red like his dad and paternal grandmother, was another issue. He looked over at Scott and Cindy. Scott had a look on his face that said that he was surprised it took him so long to find out all of this. Cindy was trying to put on an encouraging smile.

"Do you see now?" he asked Jake jokingly.

"If you guys are part of this, where are your names?" Jake asked, curious as to why he hadn't seen them already.

"They're over there, in the green," Scott pointed to a part of the wall on the other side of the room. The guy over in the practice area was still training. Jake went over to where Scott pointed and looked around. Sure enough, he found the Del Sol's, and eventually Clancy Ward and his family. Most of the members in this line were written in green, with only some being in black (and even fewer, if any, in blue). "My sister and I, we're not like the other Trojans. In fact, we're not even Trojan. We're a line that protects the red, and its heirs."

"What are you called?" Jake asked, as the person from the practice room came over. He knew the face as soon as he saw it. "What do you call yourselves?"

"We are the _Ultimum Troaie_, Jake," Cameron interjected. He was sweating from practicing in the next room, as his breath was a little unsteady. "We are the last of the Trojans."


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer**: I do not own all characters in this fanfiction. The general and some of the characters belong to Rick Riordan. Some of the characters I have made, and some I have acquired the permission to use.

**XIV**

**NATHAN**

**The three of the questers arrived at Las Vegas when it was in its natural state.** The neon lights and glimmer from the legion of casinos and hotels created a visually dazzling scene. Nathan analyzed each and every structure, taking note of the exterior, all the way down to the smallest of bulbs to the biggest neon light. Sin City introduced itself as a sort of escape from all the sad and depressing realities he dealt with back home. Here, the city was alive. And since no one really knew him, he didn't have to worry about being harassed by old women or attacked by children. No, out here, in the Wild West, Nathan could be anyone he wanted to be.

Gary drove them down the strip, until they saw their destination, the Lotus Casino and Hotel. Like the other casinos, it stood as a mecca of a luxury and pleasure. The traffic showed that a lot of people were going into the casino and hotel, but not a lot of people were anxious on getting out. Nathan remembered what Gary had said about people being stuck there, as did the ancient peoples from the old times did as well, like that of Ulysses' crew.

But before they would go in, they stopped off at a gas station to change their clothes. Gary explained the plan while they were there.

"Okay, we go in, look for the Lotus flower, and get out," he simply stated. As a descendant of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, Nathan felt like he had to disagree.

"Uh, sorry," Nathan chimed in. "But I don't think it's going to be as simple as that."

"Well then, please, do tell of your plan," Gary spoke, giving the legionnaire the floor.

"You said when you were there, they served Lotus flowers to the guests, correct?" Nathan asked. The veteran demigod nodded. "The thing with that is, it would be too easy. They're giving them away like candy, why would a quest be that easy?"

"He's right," Ellen agreed. "If that were the case, we wouldn't even be here doing something so trivial."

"Here's my theory," Nathan explained. He pulled out his notebook and pencil and began drawing out schematics and plans. In seconds, he had the ground floor blueprint for the Lotus Casino and Hotel (he had spent some time looking at the plans at an internet café next door while he was waiting for Ellen to change). "The Lotus flowers they're handing out are not the flowers we're looking for. No, I think they have some kind of bio lab, where they can grow the real Lotus flowers and use them to make the edible servings you saw."

"Okay, so we go in and break into their lab, yank a Lotus flower, and get out," Gary rationalized. Again, Nathan had to disagree with the veteran demigod, mostly with the lack of detail in his strategy. That, and taking into account the possibilities of other scenarios Nathan had floating in his head.

"Most casinos have a full-time security force," Nathan explained. "They probably wouldn't want their own source of power over their victims to be discovered by two kids and a really old kid."

"What are you thinking we do?" Ellen asked Nathan.

"You might not like it, but… " Nathan's voice began to trail off. The look Ellen gave him made him made him feel not so sure about his idea. "You're going to be our distraction."

"Distraction, huh?" Ellen asked, crossing her arms. She was wearing her dress then, making Nathan suddenly sure of her for his thinking. "I may or may not like where this is going."

"Ellen, you're going to have been the most attention-grabbing person in that casino," Nathan briefed with them. "While a large number of the on-floor security forces are going to be too busy with you to worry about Gary and I slipping into the bio lab."

"I think between us two, we can handle whatever is being kept in that bio lab," Gary said, a little bit of eagerness in the tone of his voice.

"Then it's decided," Ellen stated. Nathan nodded, as did Gary.

The three of them strode right in with Gary's car in the driveway. A valet parking employee came over to service them. Gary tossed one of the employees his keys. The other employee handed the three of them plastic cards. Nathan and Ellen looked at it with interest.

"VIP access to our services here," the man said with a smile. Nathan felt compelled to return the kindness with a smiling nod. Gary had a dissatisfied look on his face, but ultimately ended up accepting the card. "Do enjoy your stay at the Lotus Hotel and Casino."

They walked through a long, spacious hallway that connected the front doors to the actual building itself. People were relaxing and socializing on couches, while others were partying. The further they went in, the louder the music got, making the conversations between guests sound more like background noise.

Nathan tried shouting at Ellen and Gary to initiate their plan, but the noise of the casino they had just entered was much, much too loud. Neon and disco lights mesmerized the scene, as hundreds, if not thousands of people were being sucked into various games. Nathan had to keep himself sharp. This place was a living death trap. If he were to falter for one second, he might never be able to leave again.

Gary tapped Nathan on the shoulder and signaled for the two of them to move out. Ellen, who was over in the distance now, nodded at the two of them, as she went her own way. For a second, he watched the slim figure of her in her red dress walk away.

_Focus, Nate_, he told himself.

Sure, Ellen was a nice girl, but Nathan wasn't particularly interested in her. His mind was just beginning to wander, to weaken.

_Stay focused_, he told himself. _Focus on Camp Half-blood, on the Greeks. Remember why you're here_.

Nathan followed Gary through a row of vintage arcade games. He swore some of them shouldn't even exist anymore. The veteran demigod didn't even look behind him to see if Nathan was keeping up. Unfortunately for him, that made it easier for his attention to be diverted… as in one of those architect games where the objective is to build the greatest city possible. Nathan had a few blueprints in his mind, some of them borrowing ideas from famous American cities, like San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Of course, he would have to take ideas from old Rome, New Rome, and some specific Greek cities…

_Focus, Nate,_ he caught himself. He was standing there, Gary still on pace, fleeting further and further away from him with every step. The young legionnaire darted after him to catch up, his face sweating not from the run, but from the temptation not to.

They went in through the kitchen, where employees dressed in the traditional white worked like a factory mass-producing qualities meals and drinks. They were far too entrenched in the rhythm of their work to notice or even care about Gary and Nathan, making it all the much easier for them to slip by. If anything, with the two of them wearing suits, the chefs might have thought they were supervisors, or inspectors. He hypothesized this when he saw a large number of them beginning to work faster as they stepped in.

"Do you see any lotus flowers?" Gary asked Nathan. The older demigod was scanning the room for anything even remotely resembling a Lotus flower. Nathan kept a sharp eye out as well. "With this place so busy, I don't think we'll need Ellen as a distraction."

"I was about to say," Nathan commented. Just then, he saw a couple of kitchen employees walk out of a pair of flapping double doors. They came in and hoisted a box titled _FRAGILE: LOTUS FLOWER INGREDIENTS_. Before Nathan could point out to it, Gary was already nodding and heading off to the room of origin.

Further into the belly of the beast they went in. When Nathan saw what was inside the next room, he wondered how any of the casino's work went on.

They stood inside what was to be large atrium-like area, with plants growing around all over. At the same time, there were metal tables, different kinds of work stations, and everything else necessary to have an on-site and fully-operational bio lab. Men dressed in white lab coats were working like lab geeks (something Nathan held in high regards), concocting different mixtures and such, while others were working with the various parts of lotus flowers.

"Gods of Olympus," Nathan muttered. Gary hadn't said a word ever since they walked in.

"Good thing we just need one," Gary said, as he began walking towards the scientists at one of the work stations. On his way, he began pulling out a contraption of some kind. In seconds, while still in his hand, it evolved into a crossbow, locked and loaded.

Before the scientists could notice, Gary had it raised and ready to fire. With his free hand, slipped on a pair of shades, because he had to take them off when he first entered the casino.

"I'd close your eyes, if I were you, Coll," Gary said. Nathan quickly took queue and shot his palms to cover his eyes, but the effort was too late. He was blinded by a detonation from a bolt fired from the crossbow. Fortunately, he wasn't too badly affected by the light, and was able to retain most of his cognitive functions, albeit he was a bit dazed and almost tumbled as he stood up straight. "Whoops."

Nathan saw the scientists didn't do as well as him, as most were on the floor covering their faces, or were stumbling around, their eyes shut closed in pain.

"What was that?" the legacy of Pluto and Minerva asked.

"Just some high-tech bolt heads," Gary proudly said. Nathan was beginning to feel a bit better now. "They emit a split-second of light energy equal to Mercury's distance from the sun. The sound from the detonation, in collaboration with the light it emits, messes with the sensitive stuff in your head. I really like these."

"I… could tell," Nathan almost struggled to say. He looked around to see where the actual lotus flowers were. His best bet was to start in the area with the most plants.

Unfortunately, that meant, having to pass through security trip laser wires. There must have been some to shut them off, especially since they were most likely accessed frequently for the mere sake of production. He followed the emitting bodies from their source, in search of any kind of component that would power or connect it to some kind of accessing panel. He was halfway in his tracing of a line, when an alarm shot off. Gary froze where he stepped over the laser. Alarm lights flushed past his face, as some of the scientists were struggling to reach the exit.

"Double whoops," he said, smirking a little bit. Nathan didn't have the same look. He ran into the lotus flower area, yanked one out from its roots, and tossed it at Nathan. The young legionnaire barely caught it, as dirt from the soil painted part of his suit. "I think I'm going for a triple, haha! Oh, hold up. You might want to actually prepare yourself this time."

Nathan took  
queue and ducked behind cover, covering his ears and burrowing his closed eye into his lap. The shot went off, and Nathan could feel a split-second's worth of ultra-sunlight seeped through his eyelids. The response were screams of agony, and a lot of bodies hitting the floor. After a couple of moments, Nathan felt himself being pulled up to his feet, with Gary's hand on his shoulder.

"Okay, lets the _Hades_ out of here," Gary commanded.

"You mean, Pluto," Nathan corrected.

"Whatever!" the veteran demigod shouted as they burst through the kitchen doors. A couple of security personnel, dressed in white shirts, black suits and ties, identifiable by only their earpieces that stuck out like a sore thumb, were rushing in from the opposite side.

Nathan shot his hand forward, urging a shadow extension of himself to find its way under the feet of several feet. When he yanked back, half a dozen security personnel fell over, some landing on their butts.

"Let's split up!" Gary shouted to Nathan, as he was dealing with a couple of guys at once. "You get Ellen, I'll get the car. Meet up at front!"

"Okay!" Nathan exclaimed as he barely managed to avoid the grasp of one of the security guards. With so many of them in the kitchen, and more on their way mobilizing in the casino, Nathan quickly thought up a plan for his evasion.

He urged himself to shadow-travel. The buildup took a little while, but once that action had actually commenced, the security personnel who were looking at him were immediately stunned. With his physical appearance take care of, Nathan was able to slip by the security, as most of them were dog-piling on top of where he was just standing.

"Amateurs," he accidentally said aloud. A couple of them look towards his way and were bolting after him. Nathan moved out of the way just by the edge of his hair.

Nathan exited the kitchen and saw many more security guards rushing in there in pursuit of the intruders. And he just stood there invisible (sort of) with a complete lotus flower in hand… in the middle of a casino. Nathan knew that this was going to be a good story some decades later in his life. That is, if he managed to obtained the other ingredients for his quest.

In the midst of the chaos, most of the other guests seemed pretty content with their current activities, as most didn't even bother to look up. He did, however, notice that a lot of the guests were being routinely offered lotus flowers (the edible kind), to which they happily accepted and ate. The expressions on their faces suggested they experienced some kind of subtle euphoria, as most of their visible senses seemed to not function while under the initial stages of consumption.

Nathan went looking for Ellen, very eager to leave this place. His expenditure of energy from his shadow-walking phase kept his mind from drifting off. He was searching for what seemed like minutes before he saw Ellen enjoying a game. She seemed to be really enjoying herself.

Urging himself to exit shadow-walking, Nathan felt a little relieved to be himself again. Ellen hadn't paid much attention to him, as she was still fascinated with her game. Nathan looked at what she was playing. It was some kind of combat simulator, the scenario she was playing put her back in the Trojan War, judging from how the game emphasized what was supposed to be Achilles. It looked fairly interesting, but not enough to hold his attention for long.

"Ellen, we have to go," Nathan called out to her.

"Yeah, yeah, five more minutes," she said dismissingly. "I'm almost done with this level."

"No, not five more minutes," he urged. "We have to go, _now_."

"Hold your horses, what's the big rush?" she said, a bit of impatience beginning to sound in her voice.

Just then, a server came over with a plate of none other than lotus flowers.

"Madame, sir," he greeted them. "Some refreshments?"

"Sure!" Ellen said enthusiastically, even though she was still focused on her game. The server then turned to Nathan.

"What, no," he said.

"It's completely free," the server insisted.

"Well, I said, no!" Nathan stated. He summoned a shadow fist and slammed it on the game, smashing the screen. For a second, Ellen seemed disrupted, like something had finally caught her attention. Nathan took advantage of this by grabbing her by the hand and shadow-traveling her to the outside. He was still a little bit tired from shadow walking, but knew that this couldn't wait.

Into the realm of shadows they went, only to emerge from the other side. They landed out onto the driveway, just where they had exited Gary's SUV. While Ellen seemed a little dazed, the same SUV came speeding up to them, turning with the door open.

"Hop in!" Gary shouted to both of them. Nathan went over and grabbed Ellen, throwing her into the backseat with him. As Gary slammed his foot on the gas, Nathan got the two of them buckled. Safety first. When they got a couple of blocks away, Gary looked at Nathan through the mirror. "Do you have it?"

"Yeah," Nathan said, as he held the lotus flower plant in his hands, soil and all.

"What happened back there?" the veteran demigod asked. Nathan looked at Ellen, who was just recovering.

"She must've eaten one," Nathan suggested.

"Eaten one what?" Ellen asked.

"You don't remember?" Nathan asked.

"I remember being hungry," she recalled.

Gary and Nathan both burst out into laughter, while Ellen was still confused.

"It's a long story," Gary said to the mirror above him. "I'll explain on the way to our next stop."

With one of the three ingredients for the quest obtained, San Francisco would be their next stop.

Nathan was coming home.


End file.
